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/O  .' 


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JOURNAL 


A  FEW  MONTHS'   RESIDENCE 


PORTUGAL, 


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o 


JOURNAL 


A   FEW   MONTHS'   RESIDENCE 


POKTUGAL, 


GLIMPSES  OF  THE  SOUTH  OF  SPAIN. 


IN  TWO  VOLUMES.— VOL.  L 


LONDON: 
EDWARD  MOXON,  DOVER  STREET. 

MDCCCXLVII. 


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LoniNm! 

■  RADBUBT  ARD  BTARB,  rBIHTaBt,  WHITBFBIABB. 


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THESE    NOTES 

ARE  DBDICATZD, 

IN     ALL     BEYBBENCE     AND     LOYE, 
TO 

MY  FATHER  AND  MOTHER, 

FOR  WHOM  TEST  WERE  WRITTEN. 


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PREFACE. 


If  I  had  set  out  jfrom  home  with  the  project  of 
writing  a  book^  I  might  as  well  perhaps  have  gone 
to  Portugal  as  to  any  remoter  quarter;  for  there  is 
no  accessible  portion  of  the  globe  that  has  not  been 
visited  and  described;  and  after  all  the  fightings  and 
writings  in  and  on  Portugal,  there  is,  I  believe,  no 
country  in  Europe  that  is  less  thoroughly  familiar  to 
us,  none  indeed  which  has  been  more  imperfectly 
explored  by  tourists.  It  is  still  in  fact  a  labyrinth  to 
strangers,  just  as  Spain  was  one  immense  maze  of 
labyrinths  till  the  other  day,  when  Mr.  Ford  supplied 
the  clue  by  the  production  of  his  methodical,  compre- 
hensive, and  most  intelligent  Handbook — too  humble 


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viu  PREFACE. 

a  name  for  so  high  a  work — shaming  the  De  la  Bordes 
and  all  preceding  pioneers  through  that  vast  wilder- 
ness. A  similar  publication  on  Portugal^  on  a  scale 
of  course  proportionably  reduced,  and  therefore  a 
labour  comparatively  moderate,  would  be  precious 
from  the  same  hand,  not  only  to  foreigners  but  to 
natives ; — especially  if  written  in  a  spirit  of  courtesy, 
which  we  too  often  dispense  with  in  our  comments 
on  the  Portuguese,  but  to  which  they  are  neverthe- 
less well  entitled.  Childe  Harold's  rash  and  unlordly 
sneer  has  become  vulgar  in  the  mouth  of  Echo,  and 
is  therefore  unworthy  of  repetition  by  a  writer  like 
Mr.  Ford.  "Our  old  and  faithful  ally,''  Lusitaoia, 
revolts  at  the  airs  of  affectionate  contempt  with 
which  she  is  patronised  by  England,  and  if  we  would 
reclaim  any  particle  of  her  good-will,  we  should  learn 
to  repress  our  superciliousness,  and — 

"  Be  to  her  faults  a  little  blind, 
Be  to  her.Yirtues  very  kind." 

The  worst  symptom  in  her  modem  character,  and 


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PREFACE.  ix 

one  indeed  whicli  to  us  at  a  distance  does  make  the 
Portuguese  appear  ridiculous^  is  that  everlasting 
civiUwarriTig  on  a  small  scale^  which  seems  to  begin 
without  a  plan^  to  pause  without  a  result^  and  after 
a  suUen  lull  to  be  resumed  without  any  definite  aim. 
But  for  these  turbulent  humours  the  mass  of  the 
people  are  &r  less  to  blame  than  some  of  their  up- 
start rulers,  who,  availing  themselves  of  the  evils  of 
a  disputed  succession,  have  made  the  instability  of 
the  throne  and  the  fever  of  the  public  mind  subserve 
their  dishonest  ambition,  like  thieves  to  whom  an 
earthquake  or  a  fire  is  an  opportunity  for  plunder. 

A  stranger  has  little  to  apprehend  from  the  natives 
even  when  they  are  in  commotion,  if  he  will  but 
refrain  from  intermeddling  in  the  quarrel.  If  he 
has  the  good  fortune  to  be  among  them  as  we  were, 
between  the  moves,  he  is  safe  enough.  As  for  me, 
though  of  the  sex  in  whom  cowardice  is  no  disgrace, 
I  cannot  say  I  anticipated  hazard,  or  required  much 
persuasion,  in  rambling  out  of  the  beaten  tracks  in  a 


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X  PREFACE. 

country  where  so  few  English  ladies  ever  travel  at  all. 
Nor  have  I  any  personal  adventure  to  relate ;  for,  as 
we  met  none,  I  resisted  the  temptation  of  getting  up  a 
few  "moving  accidents  and  hairbreadth 'scapes/'  and 
of  so  giving  to  my  Journal  the  attraction  of  a  Story- 
book. The  truth  is,  as  I  believe,  that  imless  you 
lay  yourself  out  for  danger  bysome  bravado,  or  some 
indiscretion  of  temper,  or  by  neglect  of  such  ordinary 
precautions  as  are  customary  and  reasonable,  you 
may,  when  the  country  is  not  overran  with  civil 
warriors,  travel  in  Portugal  as  securely,  if  not  so 
smoothly,  as  you  can  navigate  the  Thames  from 
Yauxhall  to  Richmond,  or  as  you  may  ascend  the 
Nile  from  Cairo  to  the  Cataracts,  where,  under  the 
protectorate  of  Mehemet  Ali,  you  have  for  the  pre- 
sent no  chance  of  an  adventure  if  you  do  not  make 
one  for  yourself;  and  hardly  of  a  new  one  even  then, 
imless  you  could  outdo  Mr.  Waterton,  and  ride  an 
alligator  up  the  Rapids  to  Assuan. 
The  following  Diary,  prepared  solely  for  my  friends 


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PREFACE.  XI 

at  home,  will  in  no  degree  help  to  snpply  the  want 
that  I  have  mentioned  of  a  complete  Guide-book  for 
Portugal,  nor  even  for  the  limited  portion  of  it  which 
I  have  seen.  It  gives  but  a  slight  notice  here  and 
there  of  a  few  of  the  more  remarkable  objects  that 
to  me  had  all  the  charm  of  uncommonness ;  and  it 
is  diffuse  only  on  the  attractive  beauty  and  freshness 
of  the  landscapes,  and  on  the  generally  amiable  cha- 
racter of  the  inhabitants.  On  the  first  of  these  two 
subjects,  the  natural  scenery,  I  have  dwelt  with  a 
fondness  that  may  expose  me  to  the  raillery  of  having 
produced  rhapsodies  ''where  pure  description  holds 
the  place  of  sense  */'  on  the  other  topic,  the  good 
qualities  of  the  Portuguese  people,  I  can  truly  say, 
"  As  I  found  the  Portuguese,  so  I  have  characterised 
them."  My  main  inducement,  indeed,  to  the  public 
cation  of  this  desultory  Journal  is  the  wish  to  assist 
in  removing  prejudices  which  make  Portugal  an 
avoided  land  by  so  many  of  my  roviag  countrymen 
and  countrywomen,  who  might  there  find  much  to 


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xii  PREFACE. 

gratify  them  if  they  could  be  persuaded  that  it  does 
not  deserve  the  reproach  of  being  merely  a  land  of 
unwashed  fiery  barbarians  and  over-brandied  port- 
wine.  The  shores  of  the  Minho  and  of  the  Douro, 
as  well  as  of  the  Tagus^  so  long  called  '^  the  home- 
station  "  of  our  Navy,  are  now  easy  of  access  as  the 
Banks  of  the  Bhine ;  and  aknost  the  whole  length 
of  the  inland  country,  from  Braganza  to  Faro,  has, 
to  most  of  our  travellers  who  have  been  everywhere 
else,  the  grand  recommendation  of  being  new.  It  is 
to  this  "  great  fact,"  the  possibility  of  finding  novelty 
even  yet  in  the  Old  World,  and  in  a  quarter  within 
three  days'  voyage  from  the  Isle  of  Wight,  that  I 
would  call  their  attention,  and  not  theirs  only,  but 
that  also  of  ramblers  from  The  New  World,  the  coun- 
trymen of  Prescott  and  Washington  Irving,  of  whom 
every  year  brings  so  many  to  the  Mediterranean 
side  of  Spain,  yet  so  few  to  this,  the  Atlantic  shore 
of  Spain  and  western-most  coast  of  Europe— a  shore 
which  ought  peculiarly  to  interest  all  Americans 


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PREFACE.  Xiu 

r— for  hither  swam  Columbus  from  his  burning  ship, 
here  he  found  a  home  and  a  wife,  and  here  he  medi- 
tated and  prepared  his  plan  of  discovery  long  be- 
fore Isabella's  patronage  enabled  him  to  realize  it. 
Here,  too,  Martin  Boehm  found  patronage;  here 
Magellan  and  Alvares  Cabral  were  bom ;  and  here, 
in  the  service  of  King  Emanuel,  died  Americus,  the 
man  from  whom  half  the  globe  so  strangely  received 
a  name. 

In  looking  over  my  notes,  now  that  they  are 
printed,  I  fear  that  some  observations  on  English 
prejudice,  near  the  end  of  this  volume,  may  wear  an 
ungracious  air  c^  censoriousness,  as  if  I  were  lectur* 
ing  my  own  countrywomen  while  praising  the  Por- 
tuguese. Ungracious  truly,  and  even  ungrateful 
should  I  be,  who  am  much  indebted  to  the  civilities 
of  English  ladies  at  Oporto,  if  I  could  intend  to 
express  myself  with  discourtesy  to  them.  My  re- 
marks are  made  in  the  spirit  of  my  motto  por  bem, 
in  answer  to  some  of  my  friends,  by  whom,  I  think, 

VOL.  I.  b 


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XIV  PREFACE. 

the  Portuguese  are  misundersood.  For  example,  we 
often  heard  of  Portuguese  meanness  as  to  household 
arrangements  and  other  matters  that  are  simply  con- 
ventional,  and  to  which  we  apply  the  reproach  of 
sordidness,  because  they  di£fer  from  ours.  This  is 
surely  inconsiderate.  Many  of  our  usages  are  open 
to  similar  censure  from  them,  if  they  chose  to  make 
their  particular  notions  the  arbitrary  rule  of  right  or 
wrong.  They  might  compare,  for  instance,  with 
ours  or  with  that  of  the  French,  their  mode  of  pro- 
ceeding in  so  strict  a  test  of  generosity  as  a  creditor's 
legal  power  over  his  debtor.  Every  one  knows  that 
in  a  case  of  bankruptcy  with  us,  the  insolvent  mer- 
chant or  trader  is  compelled  to  make  a  surrender  of 
every  particle  of  property  in  his  possession,  and  that 
the  obligation  is  pretty  rigidly  enforced,  except 
perhaps  as  to  the  watch  in  his  pocket.  His  furniture 
and  all  his  household  goods  go  to  the  auctioneer's 
hammer  as  a  matter  of  course,  not  excepting  the 
cradle  in  which  his  babe  slept  the  night  before. 


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PREFACE.  XT 

This  severe  justice  the  Portuguese  creditor  might 
stigmatise  as  meanness;  for^  though  the  law  gives 
him  ample  power  over  "the  assets/^  he  never  molests 
the  family  of  a  debtor^  by  sending  a  broker  to  take 
an  inventory  of  his  furniture, — ^never  dreams  of  de- 
manding a  list  of  the  watches,  gold  chains,  pearls, 
jewels,  trinkets  of  any  sort,  that  may  be  possessed  by 
his  wife  or  daughters;  never  inquires  into  the  amount 
or  value  of  these  things — ^never  meddles  with  them 
at  all;  and  it  is  to  be  observed  that  the  Portuguese 
creditor,  so  far  jfrom  withholding  the  benefit  of 
such  lenity  from  the  foreign  resident  who  may 
happen  to  fail  in  his  debt,  is  usually  observant  of 
even  greater  delicacy  to  a  stranger  in  such  circum- 
stances than  to  one  of  his  own  people.  In  a  com- 
mercial city  like  Oporto,  where  Bacchus  sits  soberly 
at  Ms  ledger,  vigilant  of  profit  and  loss,  such  gentle- 
ness to  distress  rather  implies  magnanimity  than 
meanness. 


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JOURNAL 

OP  A  PEW  MONTHS'  RESIDENCE   IN 

PORTUGAL, 

AND 

GLIMPSES  OF  THE  SOUTH  OF  SPAIN. 


Southampton,  Mat  7th,  1845. 
Queen  steamer  weighed  anchor  at  3  p.m.  All 
well  as  we  sailed  down  the  river.  A  noisy,  merry 
dinner,  at  which  eleven  out  of  the  twelve  passengers 
were  present :  quickly  one  after  another  disappeared, 
and  before  we  had  passed  The  Needles,  there  was  but 
one  gentleman  left  in  the  saloon.  It  blew  a  gale  in 
the  channel,  and  this  increased  as  we  approached  the 
Bay  of  Biscay,  and  there  we  had  a  storm.  We  lost 
our  top-sail,  and  the  morning  greeting  of  a  sailor  to 
a  comrade,  on  the  10th  of  May,  was, "  Dirty  weather 
this,  more  like  November  than  May;'^  and  as  the 
Captain  was  making  his  way  along  the  fore-part  of 

VOL.  I.  B 


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2  CORUNNA. 

the  vessel — ^rather  a  dangerous  navigation^  for  the 
waves  were  dashing  over  the  deck  as  if  determined 
to  sweep  away  all  before  them, — I  overheard  him  say, 
a  little  impatiently,  **One  need  be  web-footed  in  a  ship 
like  this/'  But  a  good  little  ship  she  is,  and  right 
steadily  and  boldly  did  she  work  her  course.  We 
were  oflf  Corunna  soon  after  sunset  on  the  10th ;  but 
the  wind  blew  so  strong,  our  Captain  thought  it 
prudent  not  to  attempt  to  enter  the  bay  till  daylight 
should  clear  away  all  difficulties.  Those  among  us 
who  had  never  crossed  this  stormy  sea  before,  thanked 
him  for  the  delay,  when  we  found  ourselves  on  deck 
at  5  A.M.,  on  the  11th,  for  the  first  time  since  we 
left  the  Hampshire  coast,  and  our  vessel  quietly 
anchored  in  the  centre  of  that  beautifol  land-locked 
bay — ^the  bright  sunshine  fialling  upon  the  white 
walls  of  the  town,  which  seems  to  grow  out  of  the 
water,  and  runs  n^ore  than  half-way  up  the  green 
sloping  heights,  the  summits  of  which  are  fringed 
with  red-capped  wind-mills.  The  outline  of  the 
hiUs  behind  these  heights  reminded  me  of  the  Trout- 
beck  mountain-range,  as  seen  £rom  the  large  island 
on  Winandermere.  Boats  pushing  off  from  the  shore, 
some  very  rude  in  form^  some  of  less  primitive  shape, 


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m^^^m 


CORUNNA.  3 

but  all  gay  and  picturesque.  The  two  wMch  brought 
the  govemment  officers  recalled  to  memory  that  de- 
cription  of  Camoens  beginning — 

^  Hum  batel  grande,  e  largo,  que  toldado 
yinhA  de  sedas  de  diyersas  cores, 
Traz  o  rei  de  Melinde,  acompanhado 
De  nobres  de  seu  reino" — 

though^  instead  of  a  black  prince  with  his  attendant 
chiefs— 

«  Dusk  £Etces  with  white  silken  turbans  wreathed  " — 

they  brought  only  Oalician  functionaries,  from  the 
custom-house  and  board  of  health.  There  were  the 
awning,  imder  which  sat  the  important  officer^  the 
oarsmen^  the  sea  sparkling  under  the  stroke  of  the 
oar,  the  earnest  and  to  me  unintelligible  jabber  of 
the  men  as  they  closely  examined  our  iron  steamer, 
whilst  their  master  was  engaged  with  our  post- 
master and  captain  in  the  cabin.  All  this  there  was 
to  gratify  the  eye;  and  the  ear  was  cheered  by 
sound  of  Sabbath-bells  calling  to  matins.  Well 
might  such  a  scene  make  us  forget  the  horrors  of 
a  three  days^  weltering  in  the  Bay  of  Biscay. 

We  were  too  soon  again  in  motion,  and  too  soon 
was  I  obUged  to  quit  the  deck ;  but  not  before  I 

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4  OFF  VIGO. 

had  stored  in  my  mind  a  picture  of  the  entrance  to 
Corunna,  and  had  had  pointed  out  to  me  the  spot 
where  Sir  John  Moore  now  rests ;  and  had  admired 
again  and  again  the  track  of  foam  which  the  vessel 
left  behind  her,  and  which,  lighted  np  by  the  bril- 
liant sunshine,  appeared  as  of  shivered  emeralds. 
But  Cape  Finisterre  was  lost  to  me,  nor  could  I 
gaze  upon  the  glories  of  ^'  a  sunset  at  sea,''  nor  look 
upon  the  lights  which  told  where  Vigo  stood;  but 
I  could  hear,  more  distinctly  than  was  agreeable, 
the  noise  and  clamour  made  by  some  deck  passen- 
gers who  here  came  on  board  with  baskets  full  of 
poultry, — ^fowls,  turkeys,  ducks,  geese,  which  tbey 
were  taking  to  the  Lisbon  market;  and  difficult 
would  it  have  been  to  decide  whether  the  cries  of 
^arm  from  the  birds,  or  those  of  anger,  as  it  seemed, 
from  the  men,  were  more  discordant.  Birds  and 
bearers  were  at  last  quieted,  and  we  steamed  away 
as  smoothly  and  as  silently  as  a  steamer  can  steam : 
the  stars  shone  brightly,  and  the  crescent  moon 
astonished  me  by  the  power  of  her  light.  We  who 
were  bound  for  Oporto  were  not  a  little  anxious  for 
the  continuance  of  calm  weather,  and  not  a  little 
thankful  to  find,  at  5  a.m.,  May  12,  on  arriving  off 


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f-.w  "J 


LANDING  AT  THE  HUTS— THE  FOZ.  5 

the  mouth  of  the  Douro,  that  the  bar  was  not ''  up/' 
The  morning  was  glorious ;  sea  studded  with  open 
boats,  many  filled  with  fishermen,  but  more  carrying 
peasants  to  the  famous  festa  at  Matozinhos.  A  boat 
came  out  to  us  from  ''the  Huts":  the  luggage  was 
first  stowed  therein,  and  then  the  passengers,  a 
pretty  load !  Merry  pilot,  merry  rowers — ^there  were 
twelve  of  them — ^merrier  passengers.  Hardly  had 
we  cleared  the  rocks,  and  shot  under  shelter  of  the 
breakwater,  when  boatmen  rushed  out  of  the  boat 
into  the  sea  to  the  shore ;  men,  women,  and  chil- 
dren, rushed  from  the  shore  into  the  sea  towards  the 
boat ;  and  by  aid  of  all  these  persons,  the  packages 
and  passengers  were  indiscriminately  carried  to  land. 
Donkies  were  in  waiting  to  carry  our  party  to  The 
Foz ;  we  mounted  them,  leaving  all  the  luggage  in  a 
heap  on  this  wild  coast,  surrounded  by  a  crowd  of 
people,  wild-looking  as  savages,  with  their  bare 
necks,  bare  arms,  bare  legs  and  feet,  waiting  till 
the  custom-house  officer  should  give  to  each  the 
burthen  that  was  to  be  carried  to  the  custom-house 
at  Oporto,  more  than  three  miles  distant — a  very 
inconvenient  and  stupid  process.  I  looked  with 
amazement  at  the  girls  as  they  passed  us^  tripping 


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6  THE  FOZ. 

away  with  huge  boxes  on  their  heads — ^boxes  that 
two  of  them  coxdd  not  have  raised  firom  the  ground; 
or  as  we  again  passed  them  when  they  had  stopped 
to  talk  with  some  friend  upon  the  roadj  unconcerned 
about  the  weight  upon  their  heads^  as  if  it  had  been 
a  bag  of  down.  The  first  flower  I  saw  in  Portugal 
was  our  own  little  English  sea-sand  bladder-plant ; 
and  in  the  first  room  I  entered,  there  was  blazing  in 
an  English  grate  an  English  coal  fire — ^but  we  went 
to  the  house  of  an  English  gentleman.  Much,  how- 
ever, within  the  house,  and  all  outside  the  house, 
were  sufficiently  tm-English  to  satisfy  my  craving 
after  foreign  novelties. 

To  give  a  true  and  lively  picture  of  St.  John's  da 
Poz,  and  of  the  scenery  of  the  Douro  up  to  Oporto, 
I  cannot  do  better  than  extract,  by  permission,  a  few 
passages  from  a  story  called  "  The  Belle.'' 

^'  A  motley  place  is  this  village  of  Foz.  Suppose 
in  about  latitude  41,  longitude  8^^,  a  ragged  curve  ot 
rocks  of  sundry  shades,  from  yellowish  brown  to 
black,  ranging  in  height  from  three  or  four  to  fifteen 
or  twenty  feet,  and  broken  into  a  thousand  forms  by 
the  everlasting  pressure  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean  on 
this  salient  portion  of  the  Old  World.      Suppose, 


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THE  FOZ.  7 

among  these  wave-rent  rocks,  many  sands,  creeks, 
and  little  bays ;  within  them  a  sloping  shore  of  soft 
deep  sand,  surmounted  by  a  rough  bank  on  which  a 
village  has  been  constructed  on  a  scheme  as  rude 
and  irregular  as  that  of  the  rocks  it  overlooks.  What 
must  have  been  originaQy  a  hamlet  for  fishermen,  is 
now  the  £ELshionable  sea-bathing  place  of  the  north 
of  Portugal.  Huts  and  hovels  of  the  meanest  appear- 
ance remain  unabashed  by  the  taller  and  more  com- 
modious residence  that  have  sprung  up  among  them 
for  the  reception  of  summer  visitants.  This  village, 
which  covers  a  considerable  extent  of  ground,  is 
intersected  by  several  ill-paved  lanes,  called  streets, 
by  courtesy:  and  these  are  linked  by  others  still 
narrower,  winding  up  and  down  in  eccentric  care- 
lessness, and  wandering  among  garden-walls.  On  a 
moderate  height,  at  the  northern  extremity  of  the^ 
place,  is  the  lighthouse  of  ^  Our  Lady  of  the  Light.' 
The  broad  substantial  church  is  conspicuous  in  the 
centre  of  the  village,  amidst  a  cluster  of  houses  of  all 
sizes.  Below  the  church,  on  a  tongue  of  land  that 
projects  into  the  sea,  stands  the  little  sullen  fort  that 
defends  the  mouth  of  the  harbour,  and  domineers 
over  the  in-coming  and  out-going  shipping.     The 


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8  BAR  OF  OPORTO, 

Opposite  shore,  the  left  bank  of  the  river,  is  a  stiff 
ridge,  darkened  with  pine-trees.  At  its  base  are 
some  huge  grey  stones.  A  bank  of  sand,  called  the 
Cabedello,  runs  across  the  harbour,  of  which  the 
mouth,  between  that  bank  and  the  port,  is  therefore 
very  narrow.  Just  without  the  entrance  to  the  river 
are  many  sunken  and  some  visible  rocks,  with  shift* 
ing  sands  among  them,  and  these  form  the  Bar  of 
Oporto.  Eastward  of  the  fort  is  an  unfinished  wall 
of  strong  masonry,  checking  the  tide,  and  within  it 
is  a  large  area  of  sand,  where  the  fishermen  make, 
mend,  and  dry  their  nets,  and  bleach  their  wet  sails 
in  the  sun,"  (and  where  we  used  to  canter  on  horse- 
back to  and  fro  by  the  hour,  our  horses  fiill  of  fire 
and  frolic,  starting  back  from  the  half-spent  foam- 
crested  wave,  as  it  was  about  to  break  over  their  feet). 
^'  This  is  called  the  Lower  Cantereira.  Between  it 
and  the  Upper  Cantereira,  a  pleasant,  thinly-planted 
walk,  along  the  river  side,  towards  Oporto,  are  two 
sloped  causeways,  flagged — ^landing-places  for  the  city 
boats,  and  the  fishermen^s  catrayaa. 

"  This  little  scattered  chaos  of  sombre  rocks,  yel- 
low sands,  white  walls,  and  red-tiled  roofs,  of  tone- 
ments  incongruously  spread,  or  rather  thrown  as  if 


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.      THE  FOZ.  y 

by  chance,  in  clumps  and  patches,  here  huddled  in 
bunches,  and  there  diffused  in  thin  lines,  is  San 
Joao  da  Poz.  Yet  even  in  its  architecture  there 
are  some  things  that  strike  the  eye  of  the  stranger, 
as  having  a  character  of  elegance,  particularly  the 
stone  crosses  that  are  seen  above  the  various  chapels 
and  oratories,  and,  from  some  points  of  view,  when 
the  eye  comes  upon  them  suddenly,  have  a  singularly 
magical  appearance;  for  instance,  when  they  are 
seen  over  trellises  of  vines  that  hide  the  building  to 
which  they  belong,  and  show  the  crosses,  self-poised 
as  it  were,  in  air.  Hie  stone  fountains,  too,  with  their 
picturesque  frequenters  are  always  pleasing  objects. 

'^  At  the  back  of  the  village  are  fields  of  grass,  and 
rye,  and  maize,  and  dark  pine  groves,  so  resinously 
fragrant  after  showers.  All  these  objects,  and  above 
all,  that  grand,  ever-variable  ocean,  and  the  glori- 
ous sunny  skies,^^ — ^made  our  sojourn  from  May  to 
November  perfectly  delightful.  One  of  our  grand 
amusements  was  to  go  down  to  the  beach  to  witness 
the  bathing. 

Here  again  I  take  the  allowed  liberty  of  ex- 
tracting the  account  given  of  this  exceedingly 
picturesque  and  very  strange  scene,  in  "  The  Belle.^' 

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10  SEA-BATHING. 

''  On  a  sai^dy  flat,  flanked  by  dark  and  ragged 
patches  of  rock,  square  tents  are  pitched ;  and  thns 
a  compact  hamlet  is  formed  of  poles  and  canvass, 
with  strait  spaces  of  pathway,  necessary  for  access 
to  the  tents,  which  are  the  dressing-rooms  for  the 
bathers.  Persons  of  all  stations  come  hither  to  bathe ; 
while  idlers,  male  and  female,  stand  on  the  ledges  of 
rocks  and  on  the  sands,  and  gaze  at  them  as  they  go 
into  these  mysterious  cabins,  attired  in  their  usual 
dresses,  gay  or  sordid,  and  as  they  come  out  again — 
the  women,  clad  to  the  throat  in  coarse  full  robes  of 
blue  frieze,^^  (their  hair  beautifully  arranged,  braided 
on  the  forehead,  secured  by  bands  of  ribbon,  and 
hanging  down  the  back  in  long  plaits,  tied  with  rib- 
bon, pink  or  blue,  like  the  one  which  encircles  the 
head);  ''the  men  in  jackets  and  trowsers  of  the  same 
material  as  the  dresses  of  the  women.  Assistants, 
both  male  and  female,  who  look  like  cousin-germans 
to  the  Tritons,  conduct  the  bathers  into  the  sea,  and 
hold  them  while  there,-^ucking  and  sousing  them  in 
every  big  wave  that  comes  threatening  and  storming 
over  them,  like  a  platoon  of  soldiers  firing  with  blank 
cartridge.  The  bathers  stand  as  the  wave  approaches, 
then '  duck  the  flash,'  the  wild  water  blusters  over 


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THE  BATHERS.  H 

themj  then  they  rise^  and  pant^  and  sob,  chnging 
to  their  guides.  It  is  not  nnfreqnent  to  see  stout 
young  fellows  thus  led  into  the  water  by  bathing 
women,  and  hugging  them  with  all  the  tenacity  of 
girls  afraid  of  being  drowned.  You  have  the  blind, 
the  lame,  and  the  halt ;  the  young  and  the  hand- 
some of  both  sexes,  the  hale  and  the  infirm,  the  old 
old  man,  and  more  haggard  old  woman,  and  the 
whimpering  cherub-child,  all  floundering  in  the  wave9 
together,  like  the  crew  and  passengers  of  a  wreck. 
Among  these  groups  of  ghastly  old  visages,  and 
swart  young  faces,  illuminated  by  black  flashing 
eyes,  may  now  and  then  be  seen  two  or  three  fair 
daughters  of  the  north,  English  or  German.  The 
sight  of  aU  these  people  thus  grouped  and  huddled 
together  in  or  on  the  margin  of  a  basin  of  the  sea, 
and  so  many  of  them  aged  and  feeble,  suggests  the 
idea  of  a  pool  of  Bethesda.  An  EngUsh  person,  just 
landed  on  these  shores,  looks  on  the  scene  with  won- 
der and  distaste,  and  resolves  that  his  wife  or  his 
daughters,  who  probably  are  also  turning  away  from 
it  as  if  they  questioned  the  decorum  of  the  exhibi- 
tion, shall  never  be  seen  in  such  a  situation.  He 
and  they  get  accustomed  to  it,  however,  and  the 


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12  THE  ENGLISH. 

next,  or  perhaps  before  the  expiration  of  this  very 
season,  the  fairest  form  that  issues  from  the  wave  in 
a  saturated  blue  frieze  garment  is  that  of  his  own 
wife  or  daughter. 

'Tew  Englishmen  bathe  here.  They  prefer  another 
and  certainly  a  better  bathing-place,  Os  Carreiros, 
which  t?iey  call  The  Huts,  about  half  a  mile  away, 
where  we  landed.  In  this  they  are  right ;  but  the 
English  here,  as  all  the  world  over,  are  too  exdu- 
sively  English  in  their  tastes.  They  even  have,  at 
this  little  watering-place,  a  separate  and  most  incon- 
venient promenade  below  the  light-house,  a  rough 
uneven  causeway,  approached  by  a  rougher  road, 
which  might  be  smoothed  at  small  cost.'' — Such 
a  promenade !  our  very  horses  were  inclined  to  be 
restive  when  we  turned  their  heads  in  that  direc- 
tion; and  then,  when  they  had  ploughed  and  plunged 
through  the  deep  loose  sand  in  which  great  stones 
were  dangerously  concealed,  what  pleasure  did  they 
evince  on  coming  out  upon  the  firm  turf  which 
covers  the  rising  ground  above  the  Huts !  The 
English  ''get  more  of  the  sea-air  here,  it  is  true; 
but  the  Upper  Cantereira,  where,  especially  on  Sun- 
day evenings,  the  natives  grave  and  gay,  assemble  by 


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THE  PRAIA,  13 

hundreds^  is  not  only  a  more  social^  but  a  level  public 
walk ;  whereas  the  English  praia  as  it  is  called,  might 
seem  to  have  been  selected  for  them  by  their  Portu- 
guese shoemakers.  But  let  us  return  to  the  Portuguese 
bathing-scene.  Carriages  of  various  shapes — ^the  lum- 
bering family  coach  drawn  by  oxen,  the  trim  little 
gaudy  post-chaise,  that  looks  to  have  been  'built  in 
the  year  one/  drawn  by  mules,  rarely  by  horses, 
gay  and  painted  litters,  which  are  sedan-chairs  with 
mules  instead  of  men  for  bearers,  and  all  alive  with 
jingling  bells,  convey  the  wealthier  bathers ;  and  are 
to  be  seen  soon  after  daylight,  crowded  together  on 
the  bank,  with  servants  and  muleteers,  and  numerous 
donkeys,  that  have  also  brought  their  morning  vota- 
ries to  Neptune.  Simday  is  the  favourite  day.  The 
sands  and  the  rocks  are  peopled  with  groups  of  all 
classes ;  and  there  is  not  a  group  among  them  which 
a  northern  painter  would  not  seize  with  avidity  as  a 
subject  for  his  art :  so  various  and  striking  are  the 
features,  and  attitudes,  and  costumes,  and  so  difiPerent 
firom  anything  we  are  accustomed  to  in  the  north* 
This  scene  continues  firom  dawn  till  about  mid-day^ 
From  that  time  till  two  o'clock,  that  is,  in  the  inter- 
val between  the  last  mass  and  the  usual  dining  hour 


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14  St.  BARTHOLOMEW'S  DAY. 

of  the  richer  class  of  visitors;  this  same  place  is  a 
sort  of  fashionable  lounge^  where  well-dressed  ladies 
sit  in  rows  on  wooden  benches^  and  men  stand  round 
them,  or  cluster  on  the  rocks:  and  so  they  stare 
at  each  other  for  two  mortal  hours,  saying  Iittle> 
but  looking  pins  and  needles  at  each  other's  hearts, 
£rom  under  parti-coloured  parasols,  and  brown  or 
scariet  umbrellas.  Many  a  subtle  flirtation  is  carried 
on  there,  unsuspected  by  or  connived  at  by  the 
guardian  elders,  fathers,  mothers,  aunts.^^  The 
Portuguese,  high  and  low,  have  great  faith  in  the 
efBicacy  of  a  course  of  sea  baths,  and  all  seem  to  think 
there  is  a  charm  in  exact  numbers.  The  Mdalgo  will 
on  no  account  cease  from  his  dippings  till  hU  num- 
ber, whatever  it  may  be,  seventy  or  ninety,  or  more 
or  less,  is  complete ;  and  the  poor  man,  who  may  be 
able  to  spare  only  one  day  £rom  daily  labour,  will 
compress  his  number  into  the  twenty-four  hours, 
taking  forty  or  fifty,  or  perhaps  more  dips  in  that 
space  of  time.  There  is  a  charm  in  days  too,  and  the 
anniversary  of  St.  Bartholomew  is  among  the  poorer 
classes  the  great  day.  This  year  it  fell  upon  a  Sun- 
day, and  the  concourse  of  people  was  immense.  The 
shore  was  literally  covered  with  bathers,  thick  as  they 


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THE  WOMEN.  15 

could  standi  for  two  or  three  miles.  The  process 
began  before  five  o'clock  a.m.^  and  was  on  this  day 
scaroelj  ended  at  sunset.  The  peasants  come  from 
great  distances^  are  dressed  in  their  holiday  attire, 
and  strange  as  various  were  the  costumes  that  pre- 
sented themselves  to  my  English  eye  in  our  village, 
the  Fo2,  this  day.  The  massive  gold  chains  and  ear- 
rings of  the  women  surprised  me  most ;  chain  upon 
diain,  the  weight  of  which  tnuit  have  been  oppressive 
to  many  a  slender  neck  that  I  saw  thus  adorned. 
One  figure  of  a  group  that  passed  through  the  village 
made  even  the  Portuguese  look  round.  A  lady  on  a 
fine  black  mule,  attended  by  a  gentleman  on  a  very 
handsome  black  horse,  and  followed  by  two  running 
footmen;  and  indeed  they  had  to  run  to  keep  up  with 
the  quick  jog-trot  of  the  animals.  The  Senhor  was 
dressed  as  any  English  gentleman  might  be  dressed 
for  taking  a  ride  on  the  Steyne  at  Brighton.  But 
his  Senhora  I  She  was  the  wonder.  Attired  in  a 
rich  black  silk,  curiously  fashioned,  fitting  tight  to 
the  figure,  and  showing  off  the  well-rounded  waist ; 
on  her  head  a  large  square  clear  white  muslin  ker- 
chief  richly  embroidered  round  the  edge,  falling  down 
the  back  and  below  the  shoulders,  rather  standing 


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^  BOOTHS. 

off  fipom  the  shoulders,  and  upon  this  a  round  beaver 
hat,  of  a  shining  jet  black.  The  crown  of  the  hat 
was  also  round,  with  a  little  inclination  to  the  sugar* 
loaf  shape — ^the  brim  might  be  three  inches  wide. 
The  white  kerchief  did  not  appear  on  the  forehead, 
but  came  out  firom  under  the  hat,  just  behind  the 
ears,  leaving  an  unobstructed  view  of  a  pair  of  mag-» 
nificent  gold  ear-rings;  the  neck  was  encircled  by 
massive  gold  chains,  one  of  which  depended  as  low 
as  the  waist. 

Temporary  wooden-houses,  and  booths  covered 
with  canvass,  are  erected  on  these  occasions  in  the 
yards  of  the  vendaa  or  public-houses  on  the  shore  and 
in  the  streets ;  and  there  the  peasants  assemble  to 
take  their  refreshment,  which  consists  principally  of 
bread  and  wine  and  fruit.  Thousands  are  the  water- 
melons that  appear  and  disappear  on  this  day;  here, 
too,  they  dance  and  make  merry.  The  guitar  is  the 
instrument  most  in  use,  but  the  fiddle  and  a  sort  of 
drum  are  also  very  common ;  and  what  indefatigable 
dancers  are  the  Portuguese  during  their  festas!  Day 
and  night  are  alike  to  them.  Repairs  were  going  on 
in  some  houses  nigh  to  ours;  the  workmen,  who 
began  their  hammering  at  five  in  the  morning,  and 


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PYROTECHNIC  MANIA,  17 

whose  hammers  at  eight  p.m.  were  hardly  silent, 
were  not  too  tired  to  join  in  the  fun.  In  fact, 
they  began  a  dance  among  themselves  soon  as 
their  work  was  ended,  in  the  very  rooms  where 
they  had  been  working,  and  they  kept  it  up  tiU  past 
midnight. 

But,  perhaps,  of  all  entertainments,  fire-works 
most  delight  the  boys  and  young  men.  On  one 
festival  eve,  we  heard  rockets  rapping  oflF  inces- 
santly, all  around  us.  That  same  night,  a  certain 
fashionable  and  wealthy  tailor  of  Oporto  was  not 
content  with  illuminating  his  house  brilliantly  and 
sending  his  rockets  up  into  the  air,  but  he  must 
send  them  down  into  the  street  too,  to  see,  for 
the  fan  of  the  thing,  the  consternation  they  would 
cause  among  the  passers  by;  and  a  rocket  actually 
set  fire  to  a  lady^s  petticoat  as  she  was  walking 
home  fipom  the  opera.  Happily  no  serious  injury 
was  sustained;  the  alarm,  and  the  destruction  of  the 
dress,  proving  the  worst  of  it.  It  is  quite  unsafe  to 
ride  about  the  streets  at  these/c*/a  seasons.  Mr.  — 
was  on  a  spirited  horse  going  leisurely  up  one  of  the 
narrowest  streets  of  the  city,  about  3  p.m.,  the 
day  very  hot,  and  therefore  he  was  holding  up  an 


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18  ENGLISH  STEAMER  AT  NIGHT. 

umbrella  to  ward  off  the  snn^  when^  without  the 
slightest  warning,  out  rushes  a  little  urchin  from  a 
gateway^  and  lets  off  a  rocket  right  in  the  face  of  the 
horse,  which  of  course  bolted  round,  and  it  was  little 
less  than  a  miracle  how  our  friend  escaped  being 
crushed  against  one  side  of  the  street  or  the  other, 
the  space  that  the  horse  had  for  turning  being  so 
confined. 

Having  dwelt  so  long  upon  the  disagreeable  effects 
of  rockets,  I  must  be  excused  for  describing  one 
scene  in  which  they  played  no  vulgar  part.  It  was 
at  night,  the  signal  gun  of  our  English  steamer 
roused  me  from  a  deep  sleep.  I  got  up— opened  the 
shutters.  A  fiill  moon  was  shining  brilliantly;  the 
white  breakers  of  the  bar  were  as  visible  as  th^  were 
audible;  beyond  the  bar,  southwards,  the  sea  was  as 
a  plain  of  burnished,  not  gold,  nor  yet  silver,  but 
something  between,  which  now  glistened,  now  glit- 
tered as  the  waves  rolled  gently  along.  To  the 
north  all  seemed  wrapped  in  gloom ;  but  in  that 
direetiou  my  heart  then  lay.  I  again  looked  anxi- 
ously into  the  deep  gloom,  and  a  heave  of  some 
friendly  wave  brought  into  view  a  galaxy  of  bright 
stars  floating  upon  the  waters ;  it  was  as  if  a  con- 


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SUNSETS.  19 

Btdlation  had  come  down  £rom  the  heavens  to  rest 
upon  these  waters.  These  were  lights  from  the 
steamer.  I  watched  her  long — ^now  in  sight,  now 
out  of  sight — ^now  one  twinkling  star,  then  again 
the  whole  constellation]  and  so  it  continued  for, 
perhaps,  half-an-hour,  when  from  a  point  midway 
between  the  vessel  and  the  shore,  and  where  before 
I  had  not  distinguished  aught  upon  the  water,  rose 
up  as  bj  enchantment  a  pillar  of  fire,  which,  after 
ascending  to  an  immense  height,  made  a  graceful 
curve,  broke,  and  fell,  not  noiselessly,  into  the  sea. 
This  was  a  rocket  from  the  pilot^s  boat,  on  its  return 
to  land ;  a  signal  that  all  was  right,  and  that  the 
steamer  might  pursue  her  way — ^which  she  instantly 
did,  as  I  suppose,  for  not  another  star  twinkled  from 
the  water's  breast.  The  light  of  the  moon  was  so 
strong  as  to  enable  me  to  espy  the  brave  little  pilot* 
boat,  as  she  recrossed  the  white  breakers  of  the  bar, 
a  black  speck  tossed  to  and  fro  like  a  broken  plank. 
What  a  spot  is  this  Foz  for  moon-risings  and  set- 
tings, and  shinings,  and  for  sunsets !  Well  may  the 
Portuguese  have  a  tradition  that  Noah  came  to  Por- 
tugal purposely  to  see  a  sunset! — and  well  may 
Camoens  write  of  sunsets  as  he  does;   but  /  will 


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20       CHAPEL  OF  Na  Sa  DA  BOA  NOVA. 

spare  you  my  descriptions  of  such  splendours  as  are 
liardly  to  be  described : 

«  For  they  are  of  the  sky, 
And  firom  onr  earthly  yimon  paas  away." 

But  I  must  be  allowed  two  or  three  pages  to  tell 
of  one  or  two  of  the  many  pleasant  rides  that  we 
took  during  our  six  months'  residence  at  the  Foz* 
One  of  the  most  invigorating,  perhaps,  was  along 
the  sands  to  Matozinhos,  fording  the  river  Le9ay 
skirting  the  town  of  the  same  name,  passing  under 
the  walls  of  the  castle,  and  so,  still  keeping  to  the 
sea-shore,  galloping  on  o'er  rough  and  smooth  for 
fiill  three  miles,  when  all  at  once  you  are  arrested 
by  the  sight  of  two  or  three  stone  crosses  poised 
high  in  air,  which  seem  to  rise  &om  the  top  of  a 
grand  headland  of  rock  that  projects  boldly  into 
the  sea.  You  ascend  this  rugged  height,  find  to 
your  surprise  a  plot  of  sloping  greensward,  and  at 
one  extremity  of  this  plot  the  smallest  of  small 
chapels,  picturesque  in  form,  and  bearing  on  its 
roof  those  crosses  which  had  puzzled  us  to  guess 
whence  they  sprung.  The  chapel  is  sheltered  from 
the  west  by  a  towering  portion  of  the  rock  on  which 
it  is  founded,  but  is  open  to  the  north  and  south. 


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MINDELO.  21 

It  is  called  ^'The  Chapel  of  Our  Lady  of  Glad  Tid- 
xngs/^ — and  glad  tidings  must  the  sight  of  those 
touching  crosses  carry  to  the  heart  of  many  a  weary 
voyager  by  sea  and  land.  Continuing  your  gallop 
for  three  or  four  miles  forther  along  the  sea-shore, 
you  come  to  the  spot  where  Don  Pedro  landed,  and 
where  a  pillar  is  erected  to  commemorate  the  fact. 
Returning^  as  we  did,  through  the  village  of  Mindelo, 
and  there  taking  to  the  pine  woods,  makes  a  pleasing 
variety  in  this  long  ride,  and  the  pine-wood  rides 
are  truly  delicious.  You  canter  away  along  smooth 
sandy  pathways,  or  over  firm  turf,  and  every  now 
and  then  some  opening  in  the  wood  gives  you  a  view 
of  the  blue  sea,  the  blue  made  yet  more  blue  by  con- 
trast with  the  dark  green  of  the  pines ;  and  when  a 
white  sail,  glittering  in  the  sunshine,  chances  to 
appear  as  it  were  floating  on  the  top  of  one  of  these 
dark  table-pines,  or  is  framed  in  between  their  rich 
red  stems,  the  picture  is  magical.  Another  feature 
there  is  startlingly  affecting;  the  sound  of  the  church- 
bell  coming  to  you  at  any  moment,  you  know  not 
whence ;  for  when  riding  through  the  lonely  woods, 
you  cannot  help  fancying  yourself  far  away  from  the 
haunts  of  man. 


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22  St.  GEN&— LORDELLO. 

Another  interesting  ride  was  to  St.  Grens^  a  little 
clu^el  standing  on  a  high  hill  that  rises  solitary 
from  a  Tast  plain^  commandiag  sea  or  land  far  as  the 
eye  can  reach  in  every  direction;  a  most  heart- 
moving  house  of  prayer — ^for  there  it  stands  on  the 
rocky  eminence,  lifting  its  crosses  to  the  heavens, 
exposed  to  every  wind  that  blows ;  with  no  other 
protection  than  that  which  two  once  fine,  but  now 
time-weakened  stone-pines  may  occasionally  afford. 
It  was  from  under  the  walls  of  this  chapel  that  Don 
Miguel  so  anxiously  watched  his  numerous  troops, 
as  they  opposed,  in  the  plain  below,  the  small  force 
sent  from  the  city  by  Don  Pedro ;  and  here  Miguel 
saw  his  soldiers  defeated,  and  when  they  began  to 
run,  he  threw  down  his  telescope,  and  decamped^ 
and  that  day  settled  his  fate. 

To  the  city  by  the  lower  road,  and  back  by  Lor- 
dello — ^the  village  which  suffered  so  severely  in  the 
siege,  and  which  still  bears  the  mark  of  many  a 
cannon-baU — was  a  favourite  ride  of  mine.  The 
lower  road  is  very  beautiful,  and  a  most  entertaining 
thoroughfare  of  human  life. 

It  runs  parallel  with  the  river,  and  close  to  it  on 
the  right  bank ;  rows  of  trees  on  each  side,  gracefril 


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LOWER  ROAD  TO  OPORTO.  23 

jstone  fountaiiiB^  sliaded  by  trees — generally  weeping 
willows — ^about  these  fountains  are  women  and  cbil- 
dren  filling  tbeir  pitchers.  At  the  tank  below  are 
the  lavandeiras  washing  linen,  rubbing  and  beating 
its  Itfe  out  on  the  hard  stones,  and  singing  merrily 
in  concert  as  they  pursue  their  humble  calling.  On 
the  road  men  and  boys  are  driving  carts,  drawn  by 
two  or  more  oxen,  the  heavy  wooden  wheels  creaking 
most  horribly  as  they  slowly  revolve  with  the  lum- 
bering axle-tree.  '^The  long  dry  see-saw  of  an 
ass^s  bray^^  is  melodious  in  comparison.  Kcturesque 
figures  are  for  ever  passing  to  and  from  the  city :  fish 
girls,  fruit  girls,  (their  pretty  baskets  always  on  their 
heads)  tripping  along  with  a  gay,  light  step;  and 
hearts  as  light,  if  we  might  judge  from  their  bright 
looks  and  joyous  voices^  and  the  cheerful  greetings 
they  gave  us  as  we  met.  Groups  of  fishermen  are 
spreading  out  their  nets  to  dry,  or  sitting  on  the 
ground  before  their  cottage  doors,  in  the  full  sun- 
shine, mending  them ;  little  children  darting  in  and 
out  of  these  same  doors  like  rabbits, — and  often  more 
like  the  rabbit's  enemy  than  tire  rabbit, — tracing  across 
the  road,  without  a  rag  of  covering,  to  plunge  head- 
long into  the  water  from  a  considerable  height,  and 


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24  THE  RIVER, 

there  to  play  for  the  hour  like  so  many  water* 
spaniels.    They  rejoice  in  this  sport  most  when  the 
tide  is  comiiig  in  great  strength;  and  what  roars  of 
laughter  burst  from  these  little  fellows  when  half-a- 
dozen  of  them  get  knocked  down  by  a  great  wave, 
which  carries  them^  in  spite  of  their  puny  resistance, 
high  up  on  the  shore,  and  leaves  them  there,  sprawl- 
ing on  the  sand,  till  a  second  wave  comes  to  make 
yet  more  sport.    The  river  is  as  much  alive  as  the 
road;  large  vessels  and  small,  open  boats,  covered 
boats;  the  antique  and  most  picturesque  barco  of  the 
Douro,  too.     Fancy  a  Chinese  shoe  pointed  at  both 
ends,  and  you  see  something  like  one  of  these  ma- 
chines.   Then  the  scenery  on  the  river  banks :  one 
word  on  that  subject,  though  the  banks  of  the  Douro 
have  been  so  often  described.   The  same  objects  may 
be  seen  in  a  thousand  different  lights,  and  as  vari- 
ously represented,  yet  each  picture  may  be  true  and 
new ;  but  I  will  only  tell  of  what  struck  me  most : — 
the  hanging  gardens  with  their  rich  flowers,  and 
vine-clad  arbours  and  terrace-walks  covered  with 
trellis  of  vine,  and  the  Quinta  with  its  overhanging 
roof  and  irregular  outline,  its  verandahs  and  mirante^ 
and  the  churches  and  chapels,  and  chapel-yards,  with 


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BEGGARS.  25 

their  simple  or  elaborate  stone  crosses  crowning  the 
topmost  heights;  and  here  and  there  a  single  table- 
pine  growing  out  of  the  bare  rock,  and  resting  its 
dark  head  against  the  blue  sky,  and  the  city  of 
Oporto  ^^  on  its  bluff  and  craggy  hiUs  opposed  by  the 
heights  of  Villa  Nova  and  the  Serra  Convent,  with 
the  many-coloured  Douro  flowing  between."  But 
the  beggars — say  you  nothing  of  them  ?  What  can 
I  say  after  the  writer  I  have  already  quoted  ?  But 
I  can  vouch  for  the  accuracy  of  his  report.  They 
go  on  all  through  the  day,  '^  canting,  whining,  squall- 
ing, screaming  at  your  door,  or  within  your  porch, 
or  on  your  staircase.  It  is  of  little  use  to  close  your 
outer  door,  for  they  make  no  ceremony  of  knocking 
till  it  be  opened,  nor  will  they  move  from  the  place^ 
or  cease  their  cant  till  the  surly  voice  of  one  of  your 
servants  stop  them  with,  '  It  cannot  be  now."  We 
had  another  sort  of  beggar  at  our  portal,  a  pet  pig. 
Swine  are  pets,  and  cunningly  knowing  pets  in  Por- 
tugal ;  ours  was  a  pretty,  round,  plump,  short-backed, 
short-legged  little  fellow,  who  used  to  come  grunt- 
ing, first  at  the  outer  door ;  if  not  attended  to  there, 
he  walked  forward,  and  grunted  for  some  time  in  the 
hall,  and  if  no  notice  was  then  taken  of  him,  he 

VOL.  I.  c 


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26  PET  PIG.— PARROTS. 

would  mount  two  or  tliree  of  the  steps,  and  there 
squeal  and  squeak  until  we  went  to  him,  and  he 
would  not  quit  the  place  until  something  was  given 
to  him.  Piggy  was  an  epicure :  he  evidently  pre- 
ferred the  sweet  melon  to  the  water-melon;  but 
the  seeds  of  the  water-melon  were  what  he  liked  best 
of  all  the  delicacies  we  hunted  up  for  him,  unless  it 
were  sweet  chesnuts :  apples,  too,  he  was  very  fond 
of,  and  figs  if  they  were  ripe  and  good.     He  knew 

OUT  voices  perfectly,  and  whenever  he  heard  Mr. 

talking  in  the  streets,  and  at  a  considerable  distance 
too,  he  would  come  nmning  to  him,  and  he  was  un- 
willing to  leave  him  unti]  his  back  had  been  gently 
rubbed  with  the  foot  or  the  walking-stick  j  he  gave 
a  sort  of  grunt  of  thanks,  ''while  joyfully  twinkled 
his  tail,^^  and  then  he  contentedly  withdrew.  Pigs 
and  parrots  are  to  be  seen  at  almost  every  cottage 
door  in  the  Foz,  and  both  are  free  of  the  house,  to  go 
in  and  out  when  they  please.  This  is  not  quite  cor- 
rect as  to  the  parrots,  for  I  observed  they  were  not 
"un&equently  chained  to  the  top  of  the  half-door,  or 
to  some  other  place  appropriated  to  them  near  the 
door  or  window.  Perhaps  these  chained  birds  were 
not  yet  quite  tame  enough  to  be  trusted  with  liberty, 


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SERVANTS.— work-people-  27 

or  may  be  their  xuistressea  might  fear  their  being 
stden.  The  Portuguese  and  Gallegos  are  a  little 
.given  to  petty  larceny.  Untold  gold  is  perfectly 
£afe  left  upon  your  table,  but  you  must  keep  good 
watch  oyer  your  sideboard  and  your  store-room  keys, 
and  it  is  well,  too,  to  have  your  wardrobe  locked.  The 
Galicians  make  most  pleasant  servants,  so  obliging 
and  so  courteous ;  and  my  small  experience  of  the 
Portuguese  maid-servants  leads  me  to  speak  in  like 
terms  of  them.  In  sickness  nothing  can  surpass 
their  tender  and  watchful  care  and  attentions:  of  this 
I  can  speak  from  my  own  experience,  and  aU  the 
English  with  whom  I  talked  on  the  subject,  and 
many  of  whom  had  lived  for  years  in  Portugal,  con- 
firmed my  impression,  though  too  ready,  as  we 
English  ever  are,  to  find  grievous  faults  with  any 
person  and  thing  out  of  our  own  country. 

The  Portuguese  are  certainly  an  industrious  people. 
I  have  already  spoken  of  the  stone-masons  who  were 
employed  next  door  to  us,  and  the  cliak  of  whose 
hammers  and  chisels  was  to  be  heard  from  sun-risie 
till  sun-down.  The  men  rested  at  nine  o'clock  for 
one  half-hour  to  take  a  second  breakfast;  then  they 
set  to  again,  and  no  cessation  till  half-past  twelve. 
c2 


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28  MASONS.— FIELD  WATCH-WOMAN. 

At  two  they  began  again^  and  went  on  till  after  sun- 
set ;  and  this,  day  by  day,  till  their  work  was  ended, 
I  was  surprised  to  observe  that  the  workmen  courted 
rather  than  shunned  the  burning  sun;  for  the  blocks 
of  granite  which  they  were  hewing  into  shape  were 
all  arranged  on  the  sunny  side  of  the  street,  when  it 
■  would  have  been  equally  convenient  to  themselves  and 
the  passers-by  to  have  had  them  placed  in  the  shade. 
I  must  say  a  word  or  two  of  the  industry  of  the 
women,  and  this  is  best  done  by  stating  exactly  what 
came  under  my  own  observation.  The  occupation  of 
the  woman  I  am  about  to  give  as  an  example,  was  to 
drive  away  the  little  thieves  of  birds  from  a  crop  of 
Indian  com,  in  a  field  adjoining  our  garden,  and 
extending  up  a  steep  slope  towards  the  lighthouse. 
This  woman  got  up  with  the  birds  (before  four  o'clock) 
and  went  to  bed  with  the  birds  (about  eight),  and 
never  left  the  birds  all  day,  but  ran  to  and  fro  across 
the  sloping  ground  under  a  burning  sun,  or  a  blus- 
tering wind,  or  a  pelting  rain,  never  once  resting  her 
poor  legs,  so  far  as  I  could  discover,  and  I  chanced 
at  the  time  to.be  confined  by  illness  to  a  room  that 
overlooked  this  field.  She  was  busy  the  while  too 
with  hand  and  voice;  one  loud  shrill  note  was  for 


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OUR  FOUNTAIN-NYMPH.  29 

ever  repeated,  to  an  instrumental  accompaniment 
not  more  harmonious — a  sort  of  watchman's  rattle. 
Another  instance  I  may  quote,  of  a  tall  handsome 
young  girl  who  came  daily  to  the  house  where  we 
were  staying.  She  acted  as  the  agimdeira,  the  water- 
carrier,  bringing  &om  the  fountain  all  the  spring* 
water  that  was  required  for  the  day ;  helping  in  the 
garden,  weeding  or  watering,  and  willing  and  ready 
at  any  moment  to  be  sent  up  to  the  city,  three  miles 
off,  on  any  sort  of  errand.  Thither  she  went  regu- 
larly every  other  morning;  let  the  weather  be  what 
it  might,  she  was  off  before  four  o'clock,  and  home 
again  by  eight  or  nine,  bringing  on  her  head,  in  a 
large  basket,  everything  used  or  consumed  in  the 
house,  except  the  coals.  On  her  return  she  would 
sit  down  for  a  quarter  of  an  hour  whilst  she  ate  her 
breakfast,  then  away  to  the  fountain,  and  if  nothing 
more  were  required  &om  her,  she  hastened  to  her 
mother's  humble  cottage;  and  call  there  at  any  hour, 
when  she  was  not  out  in  some  other  person's  service, 
you  were  sure  to  find  her  busy  with  her  spindle  and 
distaff,  or  with  her  knitting. 

The  Portuguese  knit  beautifully,   and  so   very 
rapidly;  and  we  English  might  take  a  lesson  from 


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30  FEMALE  INDUSTRY. 

them.  They  hold  their  thread  so  as  to  make  only  two 
movements  with  the  hand^  instead  of  three^  as  is  our 
mode.  The  Germans  have  only  two,  I  believe;  but 
here  the  manner  of  holding  the  thread  is  different 
from  the  German;  the  needles  differ  too;  those  of  the 
Portuguese  are  much  bent^  and  have  a  little  hook  at 
the  end  to  catch  the  thread  and  draw  it  through. 
The  Portuguese  are  very  neat  needle-women  also; 
but  this  is  a  digression. 

I  must  return  to  our  industrious  "  Camilla/'  for 
that  was  her  name.  She  thought  nothing  of  going 
even  twice  up  to  the  city  in  a  morning,  and  strange 
burthens  did  she  sometimes  bear  on  her  head,  at 
least  what  seemed  strange  to  us  &esh  &om  England; 
one  of  these  was  the  half  of  a  large  heavy  window. 
The  windows  in  many  of  the  Portuguese  houses  are 
real  plagues,  being  constructed  in  that  primitive 
fashion,  which,  in  default  of  pulKes,  requires  a  prop 
for  the  under-sash  when  it  is  lifted  up  for  the  admis- 
sion of  air.  One  stormy  day,  an  awful  crash  was 
heard :  we  hastened  to  the  quarter  whence  the  sound 
came,  and  found  that  the  prop  of  a  window  had  given 
way,  and  the  sash  had  come  down  with  such  violence 
that  four  of  tiie  large  panes  of  glass  were  forced  out 


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WAGES.— FOO0.— PRICES.  31 

and  had  fallen  in  shivers  into  the  street.  "  Send  for 
Camilla  to  go  up  to  the  city/'  and,  as  I  supposed,  to 
fetch  the  glazier;  but  no;  the  window  was  to  go  to 
the  glazier,  and  not  the  glazier  to  come  to  the  win- 
dow ;  and  sure  enough  the  clumsy  frame  was  taken 
out,  put  upon  Camilla's  head,  and  away  she  walked 
with  it  to  Oporto,  got  it  mended,  and  brought  it  back. 
This  womfm  is  but  one  instance,  you  may  say,  but 
every  gentleman's  house  in  the  Foz  would  tell  you  of 
its  agiuideira  and  carreteira  as  industrious  as  ours. 
The  wages  are  very  low.  That  woman  who  laboured 
from  morning  tiU  night  in  the  field,  would  not  receive 
more  than  3rf.  (English)  per  day.  The  wages  of  the 
men  (out-door  labour)  about  &d.  Mechanics,  such 
as  stone-masons,  carpenters,  &c.,  about  lOd,  Then  it 
must  be  remembered,  that  brda,  the  yellow  gritty 
bread  made  of  Indian  com  and  rye,  is  very  cheap;  so 
are  fruits  and  vegetables  and  wine.  Here,  too,  by 
the  sea,  the  people  have  seasonable  supplies  of  fresh 
fish  at  moderate  cost,  besides  their  salted  sardinhas. 
A  vast  quantity  of  bacalbdo,  or  salted  cod-fish  from 
Newfoundland,  very  cheap  food,  is  consumed  also 
by  the  mariners  and  labouring  classes,  and  served 
out  as  rations  to  the  soldiery.   At  Oporto  the  average 


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32  FOOD. 

price  of  the  best  meat  was  4rf.  per  lb.,  when  we 
were  there.  Up  in  the  country,  the  best  pieces  of  beef 
may  be  had  for  2d.  or  Sd.  Eggs  and  poultry  are 
plentiful,  and  consequently  are  low-priced,  which  is 
well,  as  calda  degallinha,  (chicken-broth)  is  the  sove- 
reign remedy  ''for  every  ill  the  spittals  know,^' 
Newly-hatched  chickens  you  see  running  about 
the  cottage-doors  every  week  in  the  year.  Mutton 
is  held  by  the  Portuguese  and  Galicians  in  little 
esteem:  some  of  the  too  well-fed  Grallegos  in  English 
houses  go  so  far  as  to  say  it  is  not  fit  food  for 
Christians ;  and,  however  good  the  dinner  that  may 
be  set  before  them,  unless  they  have  their  proper 
portion  of  boiled  beef  (but  not  boiled  quite  to  rags 
like  the  French  bouilli)y  they  are  much  dissatisfied; 
and  yet  these  very  men,  were  they  to  return  to 
their  own  homes,  would  dine  contentedly  on  a 
piece  of  salt  fish,  dry  and  hard  and  tough  as  leather, 
or  on  a  few  sardinhas,  cured  pilchards.  On  their 
days  of  abstinence  they  live  much  on  vegetable 
soup :  the  pumpkin  and  the  vegetable  marrow  make 
a  capital  soupe  maigre  for  the  poorest.  You  see 
acres  of  land  covered  with  these  plants.  In  the 
autumn,  and  late  into  the  winter,  how  often  did  I 


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CLOTHING.  33. 

stop  to  admire  the  green  and  golden  tints  of  this 
magnificent  fruit-vegetable,  as  it  was  ranged  round 
the  low  walls  of  their  eira9,  or  on  the  roofs  of  the 
cottages.  Interesting  objects,  likewise,  are  those 
eiras  where  the  threshed  com  is  laid  out  in  the  open 
air  to  dry,  and  where  the  women  turn  over  the  grain 
with  the  bare  feet* 

To  the  Portuguese,  the  cabbage  is  as  important  an 
article  of  food  as  to  the  Scotch  and  Germans ;  every 
hovel  has  its  cabbage-garden — ^but  such  cabbages ! 
I  have  seen  them  again  and  again,  ^^  broad  and 
stately,^'  and  ten  feet  high  at  least.  Potatoes  are,  I 
understood,  but  little  used  by  the  native  poor. 

The  wages  of  the  poor,  then,  are  small,  it  is  true ; 
but  happily  their  wants  too  are  small;  and  so  far  aa 
I  could  gather,  there  is  no  such  thing  a^  absolute 
starving  poverty,  as  in  England.  One  grand  advan- 
tage that  the  poor  of  Portugal  have  over  ours  is  their 
glorious  climate.  They  require  little  fuel  and  little 
clothing;  the  latter  is  principally  of  coarse  woollen 
cloth,  and  this  they  spin  themselves,  as  they  do  any 
linen  they  may  require.  The  women  who  carry  on 
their  heads  poultry,  fruit,  &c.,  to  the  market,  spin  a§f 
they  go ;  and  they  sit,  too,  like  the  men,  at  thei|f 
c3 


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34  DOGS. 

doors  in  the  full  simshine^  spimung,  or  knittings  or 
semring^  while  their  young  ones^  half  naked^  are  play- 
ing about  them^  and  rolling  in  the  sand  like  little  pigs* 
By  the  way^  though  our  ^^  pet  pig  of  the  Muses ''  was 
a  very  pretty  pig — a  quaint  Chinese, — the  porkerar 
of  this  neighbourhood  are  generally  hideously  ugly-— 
immense  creatures  with  great  long  ears,  long  backs, 
rising  in  the  centre  like  an  arch,  hollow  flanks,  and 
covered  with  a  long,  softish  sort  of  black  hair,  but  so 
httle  of  it  as  to  show  distinctly  the  black  skin  be- 
neath; and  yet  the  cottagers  make  pets  of  these 
creatures,  and  they  answer  to  names,  and  come  at 
call  like  dogs,  and  are  quite  as  fond  of  being  talked 
to  and  caressed.  Almost  every  house  has  its  dog 
too,  and  a  plaguy  nuisance  these  curs  are.  At  the 
Poz,  and  in  the  suburbs  of  Oporto,  they  come  bark* 
ing  at  your  horse's  heels,  out  of  one  door  after 
another,  till  you  get  a  whole  pack  upon  you  before 
you  reach  the  end  of  the  street;  and  if  they  leave 
you  there,  you  will  find  another  pack  awaiting  you 
in  the  next  street,  you  may  be  sure.  A  year  or  two 
ago,  the  magistrates,  in  wder  to  abate  this  nuisance, 
offered  so  much  for  the  head  of  every  vagrant  dog 
that  might  be  found  without  its  responsible  owner 


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CATS.  35 

in  the  street.  Heads  of  dogs  in  plenty  were  pro- 
duced for  the  reward  at  the  police-office ;  and  the 
dog-decapitation  trade  prospered  for  some  days,  till 
it  was  discovered  that  not  a  head  nor  a  hair  had 
suffered  of  any  of  the  mongrels  against  which  the 
canine  edict  was  issued;  but  every  gentlem9.n^s  dog 
that  could  be  seized,  and  all  the  ladies^  lapdogs  that 
could  be  caught,  had  been  the  victims.  Of  cats,  also, 
there  are  enough ;  but  it  is  difficult  to  recognise  the 
relationship  between  our  long-tailed  pert-eared  tab- 
bies of  England,  and  these  earless,  tailless  cats  of 
Oporto.  It  is  the  fieishion  to  cut  off  their  ears  and 
tails ;  they  are  the  better  mousers  for  such  clipping, 
it  is  supposed.  When  I  once  remonstrated  against 
such  a  barbarous  practice,  I  was  answered  by  a  query 
which  was  unanswerable :  "  Is  it  more  barbarous 
than  your  English  fashion  of  docking  your  horses^ 
tails,  and  your  dogs^  tails  and  ears  too  V* 

It  might  be  edifyii^  to  some  of  the  London  world, 
who  dine  at  night  and  rise  at  mid-day,  to  hear  a  his- 
tory cxf  a  day  at  the  Foz*— this  fashionable  watering, 
place  of  the  north  of  Portugid.  They  will  be  startled 
at  the  outset ;  for  they  must  hear  of  servants  knock- 
ing at  the  sleeping-room  door  soon  after  5  a.m.,  and 


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36  LIFE  AT  THE  FOZ. 

of  merry  voices  heard  under  the  window  even  before 
that  hour — merry  voices  from  the  bathers  and  their 
attendants  passing  to  and  from  the  sea.  The  phice  is 
alive  with  ^'fashionables^*  soon  after  sunrise^  and  thus 
continues  till  nine  o'clock^  the  usual  breakfast-hour. 
When  they  retire,  the  vendors  of  fish,  poultry, 
game,  fruits,  flowers,  oil,  charcoal,  candles,  shoes, 
shawls,  sweetmeats,  chocolate,  and  a  long  et  catera, 
keep  up  the  bustle  till  three  o'clock,  the  common 
dinner-hour.  After  that,  the  sesta, — and  then  the 
streets  would  be  tolerably  quiet,  but  for  the  noisy 
beggars.  Before  five  o'clock  the  village  is  again 
astir,  with  ladies  on  foot  or  on  donkey-back,  gentle- 
men on  foot  or  on  horseback,  children  and  their 
nursery-maids,  and  mxTsery-men,  infants  under  three 
years  old,  three  or  four  on  one  donkey,  followed  by 
two  or  three  running  footboys  and  old  nurses — ^all 
bound  for  the  praia,  the  sea-shore,  and  the  rocks ; 
there  to  loiter  about,  to  flirt,  and  amuse  themselves 
as  might  suit  the  age  and  fancy  of  each.  The  sun 
has  long  set  before  these  crowds  of  people  return 
to  their  homes.  The  Portuguese  have,  certainly, 
no  dread  of  remaining  out  after  sunset,  or  of  expos- 
ing themselves  to  the  night  air  in  their  balconies ;  at 


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LIFE  AT  THE  FOZ.  37 

these  they  sit  and  talk  with  their  Mends  about  them^ 
or  with  such  as  may  chance  to  pass^  till  nearly  mid* 
night.  Some  of  them  are^  I  fear^  gentlemen  return-^ 
ing  from  an  adjacent  club-house^  alias  gambling* 
house. 

It  was  between  the  hours  of  4  and  5  p.m.,  that  we  set 
out  on  those  delightftd  rides  to  which  I  have  alluded. 
On  our  first  arrival  in  Portugal,  we  rode  before 
breakfast ;  but  that  we  soon  gave  up,  for  we  found 
the  sun  too  powerful  even  by  eight  o^clock.  The  ride 
under  such  a  sun  made  idlers  of  us  for  the  day;  so 
we  contented  ourselves  with  doing  as  our  neighbours 
did,  keeping  to  the  sea-side  and  near  home.  Dinner 
parties,  dances,  tea-drinks  among  the  rocks,  riding 
parties,  and  pic-nics,  were  taking  place  every  day; 
and  pleasant  parties  all  these  were — ^for  the  hours 
were  early,  and  there  was  no  trouble  of  preparation, 
except  for  the  cooks,  as  even  the  dances  were  at- 
tended in  undress;  but  the  riding  parties  and  the 
pic-nics  were  the  most  charming;  and  oh  the  comical 
scenes  and  the  comical  adventures  I  What  food  for 
Punch !   Even  H.  B.  might  have  taken  many  a  hint. 

I  will  now  give  an  account  of  the  most  extensive 
of  our  rides  from  the  Foz,  a  tour  of  the  province 


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38  ENTRE  DOURO  E  MINHO. 

enire  Douro  e  Minho.  This  fertfle  province,  the 
smalleBt,  except  Algarre,  and  the  most  populous^ 
and  perhaps  the  most  interesting,  in  all  Portugal^ 
extends  to  the  length  only  of  eighteen  leagues  from 
north  to  south,  and  is  twelve  leagues  in  its  extremest 
breadth  from  east  to  west  at  the  utmost.*  It  is 
bounded  on  the  north  by  the  river  Minho,  which 
separates  it  from  Galida;  on  the  west,  by  the  At- 
lantic Ocean;  on  the  south,  by  the  Douro,  that 
divides  it  from  the  province  of  Beira;  and  on  the 
east,  partly  by  Gahda,  and  partly  by  Tras  os 
Montes.  It  abounds  with  streams,  which,  with  a 
good  soil  and  isir  climate,  account  for  its  great 
fertility,  and  the  luxuriant  growth  of  its  trees. 

It  is,  or  was,  distributed  into  five  comarcoAy  or  hun- 
dreds— Oporto,  BarceUos,  Viana,  Valenca,  and  Gui- 
maraens ;  to  which  a  sixth  may  be  added,  by  count- 
ing  Braga  and  its  ecclesiastical  district  as  another.  It 
comprised  1500  parish  churches,  an  archbishopric  at 
Braga,  (which  stands  in  the  very  centre  of  this  charm- 
ing district,)  a  bishopric  at  Oporto,  and  it  did  com- 
prise, till  recently,  5  collegiate  churches,  nearly  180 

*  A  Portuguese  common  league  is  three  English  miles  and  four- 
fifths. 


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THE  DOURO.  39 

convents  of  nuns  and  friars,  whose  nmnber  exceeded 
SOOO.  It  has,  or  had,  500  chapels  and  shrines  {ermi-^ 
das  e  santiunios),  and  several  hospitals  and  charitable 
institutions. 

Its  principal  rivers,  besides  the  Douro  and  Minho, 
from  which  it  takes  its  name,  are  the  Bio  d^Ave,  the 
Cavado,  and  the  Lima.  There  are  many  minor 
rivers  and  streams,  some  of  which  wiU  be  noticed  as 
they  occur  on  our  route. 

But  I  will  here  say  a  few  more  words  on  the  Douro, 
before  we  turn  our  backs  on  it  for  a  while  to  make 
acquaintance  with  its  northern  cousin,  the  Minho. — 
The  Douro  (Spanish,  Duero),  called  by  the  Greeks 
Arfyios,  by  the  Latins  Durius,  has  its  source  in  the 
mountains  of  Urbion  (anciently  Pelendones),  in 
Old  Castile,  and  passing  by  Soria— as  probably  as 
any  other  the  site  of  Numantia — it  runs  west- 
ward by  Osma,  Aranda,  and  Boa,  receiving  the 
rivers  Pisuerga,  Eresma,  and  others.  It  traverses 
Lecm,  dividing  it  into  two  parts,  and,  after  flow-* 
ing  through  or  by  the  towns  of  Simancas,  Tor^ 
desiUas,  Toro,  and  Zamora,  serves  as  a  boundary 
between  Leon  and  Portugal  for  several  leagues, 
bathing  the  walls  of  Miranda,  and  receiving  the 


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40  THE  DOURO. 

waters  of  the  Tormes,  the  Mansuecos,  the  Huebra, 
&c.  Presently,  at  the  confluence  of  the  Agaeda,  it 
enters  Portugal,  separates  the  provinces  of  Beira 
and  Tras  os  Montes,  receiving  from  the  latter  the 
rivers  Sabor,  Tua,  Corgo,  and  others,  and  also  seve- 
ral little  tributaries  from  Beira,  which  province  it 
also  divides  from  that  of  Entre  Douro  e  Minho, 
whose  fine  river  Tamega  soon  adds  to  its  flood,  so 
that  it  rolls  with  an  impetuous  current,  over  a  rocky 
channel  and  between  rocky  banks,  with  many  sinuo- 
sities and  with  frequent  rapids,  till,  before  it  meets 
the  tide,  it  checks  its  haste,  glides  placidly  (unless 
after  a  flood,  here  called  a  fresh)  between  Oporto 
and  Villa  Nova,  and  their  suburbs  Massarellos  and 
G^ya,  and,  at  our  bathing-place  of  San  Joao  da  Foz, 
pushes  over  the  bar  into  the  ocean. 

A  fresh  is  sometimes  occasioned  by  an  unusual 
duration  of  the  season  of  very  heavy  rains,  and  some- 
times by  the  excess  of  suddenly  melted  snows,  or  by 
both  causes  combined,  in  the  Spanish  mountains, 
&c.  Such  an  accident  is  not  frequent,  not  even 
annual;  but  when  it  does  come,  it  is  a  most  incon- 
venient encroachment,  swelling  the  river  to  such  a 
degree,  that  the  cellars  and  ground-floors  of  the 


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A  FRESH.  41 

lower  parts  of  Oporto  and  Villa  Nova  are  inundated 
and  the  power  of  the  flood  is  then  so  great,  that 
the  old  bridge  of  boats  (now  superseded  by  a  sus- 
pension iron  bridge)  was  sure  to  be  carried  away,  if 
the  warning  given  by  the  weather  and  the  altered 
state  of  the  water  was  not  attended  to  for  its 
timely  removal.  I  have  heard  an  odd  adventure 
of  an  English  gentleman,  who,  on  the  way  to  his 
wine-lodge,  was  crossing  that  pontoon-bridge,  when 
it  gave  way,  and  he  found  himself  all  at  once  em- 
barked on  a  seaward  voyage,  on  one  of  the  boats 
that  had  broken  loose.  Clear,  however,  of  the  perils 
of  hawsers  and  cables,  and  shipping  at  anchor,  and 
of  all  obstructions  and  intricacies  of  the  river  navi- 
gation, the  truant  bark  piloted  itself  rarely,  till,  just 
as  the  astonished  man  had  lost  all  hope  of  escaping 
the  roariQg  bar,  the  boat  whirled  off  and  grounded, 
with  a  shock  that  made  him  describe  a  summerset, 
and  he  found  himself  almost  buried,  but  high  and 
dry,  in  the  soft  sands  of  the  Cabedello.  Generally, 
mischief  was  prevented  by  detaching  the  boats,  when, 
a  fresh  was  expected,  and  mooring  them  safely  till 
the  peril  was  over.  He  who  saw  the  Douro  at  such 
a  time  only,  or  even  after  a  succession  of  moderate 


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^  THE  DOURO. 

rains,  would  call  it  a  coarse  and  mnddy  rirer ;  but 
he  wonld  be  mnch  mistaken — ^for  it  is,  dnring  the 
greater  proportion  of  the  year,  as  clear  as  can  be 
wished ;  and  the  sunsets  on  it  are  often  delightftQ^ 
adorning  its  surface  with  a  fine  yariety  of  colours — 
here  as  if  with  polished  silver,  there  with  a  rich  saf* 
firon  colour;  here  violet  or  amethystine,  there  jasper, 
— as  if  all  the  gems  had  been  fused  and  interfused  by 
that  powerful  sun  into  every  exquisite  harmony  of 
hue  and  light  and  shade.  This  river,  though  nar* 
rower  than  the  Tsgua,  and  70  or  80  miles  shorter, 
runs  in  a  deeper  channel,  and  having,  perhaps,  more 
copious  tributaries,  carries  much  more  water  to  the 
sea,  whence  the  proverb  qnoted  by  Barros, — 

**  O  Douro  leya  as  agnas,  o  Tejo  as  nomeadas." 
The  Douro  has  the  waters,  the  Tagus  has  the  fame. 

In  Claudian^s  time  the  margins  of  the  Douro 
abounded  with  flowers.     So  they  do  still. 

Callicia  risit 
Floribus ;  et  roaeis  formosus  Duria  ripis. 

And,  as  the  old  Oalida  here  mentioned  comprised 
also  the  Minho  country,  the  praise  stands  good  for 
the  land  which  we  are  now  going  to  explore. 

On  the  twenty-fourth  of  May  we  set  out  at  seven 


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TRAVELLING  PARTY.  43 

A.M.^  too  late  an  hour.  Our  party  consisted  of  two 
ladies^  two  gentlemen^  a  Gulician  servant^  and  a 
muleteer.     Our  horses  were  all  hired.     J  was 

mounted  on  a  well-bred  black  horse  that  was  rather 
fond  of  kicking ;  my  steed  was  quite  as  good  as  hers^ 
and  much  more  amiable.     Both  these  animals  were 

in  a  fair  condition.     Mr. rode  a  high-bred  and 

handsome  but  old  and  spavined  white  horse,  and 
Mr.  H.  was  perched  on  a  tall  brown  Bosinante^  whosef 
hipbones  protruded  awfully.  One  baggage-mule 
(and  a  baggage  she  turned  out  to  be),  carried  all  our 
travelling-gear,  including  not  only  carpet-bags,  but 
hammock  nets,  &c.,  &c.  Yet  she  had  but  a  moderate 
load,  for  our  "marching  orders^'  were,  "leave  all 
your  band-boxes  at  home,  and  take  nothing  that  you 
can  do  without.^'  Our  trusty  Galician  went  cheer- 
fully on  foot,  and  the  muleteer  was  also  to  walk. 
This  was  no  splendid  turn-out,  but  "  economy  is  the 
life  of  the  army,"  said  Mr. ,  who  was  our  com- 
manding officer.  For  a  while  we  got  on  pretty  well 
over  rough  and  smooth,  but  the  rough  predominates 
in  Portuguese  travelling ;  and  though  there  are  now 
several  good  roads  about  Oporto,  this  way  to  ViUa 
do  Conde  was  not  one  of  them.    It  was  detestable. 


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44  ROADS. 

almost  from  the  starting  point.  In  one  part^ — ^where, 
as  often  occurs^  a  jumble  of  stones  forms  a  causeway, 
two  feet  wide,  as  a  bridge  for  one  side  of  the  road, 
while  the  rest  is  a  swamp  or  a  bog, — J.  valiantly 
took  the  causeway,  but  when  she  had  got  about  half- 
way over  ^^the  bad  place,'^  the  stones  seeming  more 
and  more  wide  apart  from  each  other,  she  took 
fiight  at  her  own  courage,  gave  her  horse  a  sudden 
jerk,  and  brought  him  down  into  the  swamp:  he 
began  kicking,  which  made  his  fore-legs  sink  deeper 
and  deeper  into  the  mire.  Miss  cried  out;  "Oh 
dear !  ^'  and  seemed  determined  to  cry  and  fall  off; 
but  the  seiyant  rescued  her,  and  brought  her  horse 
out  in  safety  from  this  perilous  Slough  of  Despond. 
We  proceeded  along  narrow  roads,  where  were  plenty 
of  great  stones,  and  plenty  of  holes,  now  dusty  now 
miry,  between  stone-waUs,  within  which  were  rows  of 
pollard  oaks  vine-wreathed,  through  pine  woods ; — 
gloomy  woods  they  are,  and  few  birds  love  them;  but 
we  heard  the  cuckoo  in  one  of  them.  We  passed 
many  picturesque  clumps  of  cork-trees,  many  oKve 
groves  not  picturesque,  many  pleasant  varieties  of 
verdure,  and  abundance  of  wild  flowers. 

YiUa  do  Conde  stands  on  a  flat  near  the  mouth  of 


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VILLA  DO  CONDE.  45 

the  river  Ave.  Some  writers  aflfirm  that  it  is  of 
very  ancient  foundation^  and  that  its  name  was  Villa 
Comitis.  Others  say  that  it  was  founded  by  Sancho 
the  First  in  the  year  1200.  The  huge  Nunnery  of 
Santa  Clara  is  a  fine  buildings  and  a  still  more 
striking  object  is  the  superb  aqueduct  that  conveyed 
fair  water  from  far-off  well-springs  to  the  noble 
lady-nuns^  whose  fingers  were  famed  for  expertness 
in  the  art  of  making  sweet  pastry.  Beautiful  view 
of  this  Nunnery  and  aqueduct  from  a  street  where 
an  old  church  of  Arabesque  Gothic  comes  in  as  part 
of  the  picture,  with  gay  green  trees  about  the  church, 
and  blue  hills  far  behind  the  town, 

I  forgot,  and  it  is  hardly  worth  while  to  recollect, 
that  at  Povoa,  a  fishing  village,  and  in  the  season 
an  inferior  sea-bathing  place,  less  than  an  hour's 
easy  ride  from  Oporto,  if  the  road  had  been  a  road, 
our  muleteer  had  the  modesty  to  inform  us,  with  an 
authoritative  air,  that  there  we  were  to  halt  till  next 
day,  at  a  wretched  venda  or  winehouse !     A  comical 

altercation  ensued  between  the  man  and  Mr. . 

J.^8  horse  took  the  man's  part,  and  plunged  violently, 
as  if  he  too  had  made  up  his  mind  to  proceed  no 
further.    Mr. ,  who  soon  perceived  that  he  had 


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46  MULE  AND  MUL£MAN. 

no  clxance  in  argument  with  the  muleman^  who  had 
found  the  wine  good  here^  and  was  fiercely  eloquent^ 
quietly  ordered  Orenho^  our  Galician^  to  go  on  with 
the  mnle.  But  the  mule  would  not  budge.  The 
affair  was  getting  unpleasantly  ridiculous^  for  a 
crowd  was  gathering  about  us.  A  priest  luckily 
came  up^  and  with  all  the  urbanity  becoming  his 
callings  settled  the  matter  in  two  minutes.  What 
he  said  to  the  muleteer  I  hardly  know^  but  the  few 
words   he   addressed   to    the   wine-possessed   man 

appeared  to  exorcise  him.     Mr. changed  horses 

with  J.,  and  we  arrived  in  due  time  at  Villa  do 
Conde;  and^  after  waiting  there  for  a  reasonable 
time  we  resumed  our  journey.  The  baggage-mule 
at  one  ugly  place  was  inclined  to  have  a  roll  in  a 
mud-pond^  which  would  have  been  delectable  for 
our  changes  of  Unen;  but  the  muleteer  remonstrated 
with  her^  and  continued  for  a  mile  or  two  to  lecture 
her  severely,  and  the  mule  had  nothing  to  say  for 
herself.  We  passed  twice  under  the  aqueduct.  We 
had  a  Jong  and  very  hot  and  very  fatiguing  ride  to 
Barcellos,  over  a  lully  country;  and  what  a  silent 
country  it  is!  There  are  cultivated  valleys  sur- 
rounded by  gloomy  hilU  of  pines;  but  you  meet 


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APPROACH  TO  BARCELLOS.  47 

Imrdly  B  human  being.    Old  cork-trees  are  scattered 
liere  and  there^  single  or  in  clumps;  old^  I  say^  for 
every  cork-tree  tliat  I  see  looks,  like  Wordsworth's 
thorn,  "as  if  it  nev^  had  been  young;''  and  this 
tree  has  not  yet  shed  half  of  its  brown  wintry  foliage, 
which,   though  the  spring  is   nearly  over,  seems 
unwilling  to  yield  place  to  the  new  leaves, — ^small 
glossy  leaves,   sloe-leaf  like.      Shabby   olive-trees 
abound ;  they  are  like  the  willow  we  call  sally.     Oak 
pollards  you  perceive  in  every  direction,  and  on 
every  one  of  them  a  bright  green  vine  twining  and 
flaunting.    The  magnificent  hill  boundary  is  in  parts 
nakedly  rocky,  but  most  of  it,  as  I  have  said,  is 
covered  with  the  eternal  stone-pines,  which,  in  the 
nearer  masses,  look  in  their  distinct  blackness  more 
like  thunder-clouds  than  green  trees,  but  far  away 
they  are  dimly  hazily  blue,  till  the  outline  melts  into 
the  bluer  sky.     Part  of  this  ride,  as  we  approached 
Barcellos,  was  almost  as  good  as  a  ride  in  any  of  the 
rougher  parts  of  Westmoreland,  and  perhaps  would 
have  been  quite  so  but  for  the  want  of  lakes  and 
"  trotting  bums."    At  Barcellos,  however,  the  river 
is  beautiful;  and  so  are  the  views,  up  and  down, 
from  the  old  stone-bridge  that  rests  on  its  five  or  six 


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48  BARCELLOS. 

arches  over  the  Cdvado ;  and  what  a  fine  old  town 
Barcellos  is !  The  inn  detestable^  but  that  is  nothing; 
it  is  like  ahnost  all  the  rest  in  the  country. 

Next  day  we  breakfasted  at  eighty  on  chocolate 
with   milk^  firesh    eggs,   bread   and   honey.      The 

gentlemen   then   sought   Senhor  G ,  to  whom 

we  had  a  letter.  They  found  him  at  one  of  the  old 
churches,  in  command  of  the  military  guard  that 
was  to  attend  a  procession.  He  very  obligingly 
promised  to  shew  us  the  lions  when  his  church-miU- 
tant  duty  was  over.  Our  friends  then  called  on  a 
Fidalgo,  to  whom  we  had  a  letter  from  a  prebendary 
of  Braga.  Our  Fidalgo,  a  fine-looking  man  of  middle 
age,  received  them  with  much  politeness,  told  them 
his  house  was  at  their  service,  regretted  that  his 
wife,  who  spoke  English,  and  his  mother,  were  both 
ill,  and  that  the  other  ladies  of  his  family  were  not 
dressed;  assured  them  that  we  were  at  the  very 
worst  inn  in  the  place,  showed  them  his  dining-room, 
and  did  n/ot  ask  them  to  dinner.  Here,  appearances 
were  against  the  hospitality  of  the  Fidalgo;  yet 
nothing  could  be  farther  from  the  truth  than  that 
he  was  inhospitable,  as  we  soon  found.  He  also 
showed  them  something  much  better  than  his  dining- 


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BARCELLOS.  49 

room  (though  that  was  very  good^  as  was  his  house 
altogether) — ^an  ornamental  garden;    some  of  the 
beds  nothing  but  box  in  fantastical  knots^  stiif^  but 
very  pretty;  beds  of  flowers  disposed  with  indescrib- 
able ingenuity;  topiary  fancies  numberless^  and  all 
graceful.     From  a  covered  balcony,  at  the  back  of 
his  house,  as  well  as  from  his  garden,  were  strik- 
ing views   over  the   Cavado,   of  the  rich  country 
to  the  south ;   on  the  right  the  famed  Franqueira 
summit;     three  leagues   away  to  the  left,  Nosso 
Senhor  do  Monte,  the  holy  hiU  near  Braga.    After 
paying  a  visit  to  the  best  inn,  at  Barcelhinos  on 
the  other  side  the  river,  near  the  bridge,  to  assure 
themselves  that  there  was  such  a  house,  and  to  whet 
their  appetite  for  anger  against  the  ill-conditioned 
muleteer  who  had  quartered  us  at  the  worst,  when  it 
was  too  late  to  look  out  for  ourselves,  our  gentlemen 
returned  to  us,  and  found  us  at  a  balcony,  looking  at 
the  procession,  and  all  the  bustle  of  a  fair;  for  this 
was  a  great  gala-day  at  Barcellos.     The  clatter  of 
voices  in  the  square,  from  the  motley,  happy  throng 
that  filled  it,  was  to  us  Babel  outbabbled,  though  but 
one  tongue  was  spoken.      Such  a  contrast  to  the 
stillness  of  the  pine-woods  yesterday !     St.  George, 

VOL.  I.  D 


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50  BARCELLOS. 

the  hero  of  the  day,  a  wooden  figure  in  painted 
armour  of  bronze  colour,  was  miwilling  to  carry  his 
lance,  and  the  hone  was  unwilling  to  cany  St« 
George.  His  attendants  "wete  half-an^hour  settling 
this  matter ;  but  at  last  the  lance  was  steadied  in 
SU  George's  hand,  but  St,  George  rode  very  unstea- 
dily on  the  shy  led  horse,  who  seemed  to  doubt 
whether  he  had  got  the  saint  or  the  dragon  on  his 
back.  Marshalled  by  this  mock  Master  of  the 
Horse,  came  a  gigantic  and  coarsely-painted  figure 
of  Christ,  dressed  in  canonicals,  and  borne  on  a 
sort  of  trestle  on  men's  shoulders.  He  was  crowned 
with  a  most  gorgeous  wreath  of  thomless  roses:  there 
was  something  touching  in  that  fancy,  amidst  all  the 
worse  than  bad  taste  of  the  exhibition. 

When  it  was  over,  Senhor  Gr ^,  true  to  his  engage- 
ment, came  to  us,  and  with  him  the  Fidalgo,  already 
mentioned,  came  to  pay  his  respects  to  the  ladies,  and 
to  invite  us,  on  the  part  of  his  wife,  and  mother,  and 
daughters,  to  a  little  ball,  which  they  had  suddenly 
determined  on  getting  up  for  us  in  honour  of  our  letter 
of  recommendation.  This  was  a  proffered  civility 
much  more  marked  than  an  invitation  to  dinner  would 
have  been,  and  if  we  had  accepted  it,  would  have  put 


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BARCELLOS.  51 

the  truly  hospitable  inviters  to  much  more  trouble 
and  expense.  We  decl^ied  it^  because  we  felt  that  we 
had  no  spare  strength  to  waste  on  dancings  but  must 
husband  what  we  had  for  the  hai;d  work  before  us. 
I  have  since  thought  that  it  was  a  stupid  spiritless 
thing  to  refuse  the  ball.  Our  gentlemen  thought  it 
very  stupid  indeed,  and  accused  us  of  jealousy  of  the 
black  eyes  of  the  {emsle  fidalffuia  of  Barcellos.  No 
doubt  we  should  have  met  as  much  of  the  "best 
company '^  of  the  place  as  could  have  been  collected 
on  a  brief  summons,  and  we  should  have  added  some- 
thing to  our  small  stock  of  knowledge  of  Portuguese 
provincial  society  at  home.  But,  besides  the  reason 
I  have  given,  I  must  own  that  I  was  shy.  My  want 
of  ridU  in  the  spoken  language  made  me  sure  that 
I  should  bore  and  disappoint  the  kindness  of  our 
inviters.  Some  misgivings  about  the  toilet,  too, 
might  have  flitted  before  me,  when  I  begged  to  be 
excused.  Carpet-bags  are  sorry  wardrobes  for  ladies, 
and  we  had  no  other.  The  Fidalgo  was  so  evidently 
disappointed  at  our  declining  the  kind  bidding,  that 
we  took  pains  to  assure  him  of  our  sense  of  his  cour- 
tesy, and  we  parted,  I  hope,  good  fiiends.    Towards 

evening,  Senhor  Gr accompanied  us  on  a  ride 

d2 


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52  THE  FRANQUEIRA  HILL. 

to  the  Franqueira  Convent  (that  was)  and  the  church 
above  it^  on  the  top  of  a  steep  height  which  com- 
mands a  great  prospect  of  hills^  plains^  and  sea ;  the 
mountain  GrerSz  in  the  distance^  and  Nosso  Senhor 
do  Monte^  near  Braga^  distinctly  visible.    We  saw 

also^  what  we  supposed  to  be^  and  was^  the  M 

steamer  on  its  way  to  England.     Our  friend  B 

was  on  boards  and  our  letters  for  home;  and  so^ 
while  standing  on  that  height^  our  thoughts  steered 
homeward  too^  at  more  than  steam-ship  pace. 

In  Senhor  G y  our  guide  to  the  Franqueira,  we 

found  not  only  a  most  obliging  but  a  highly  intelligent 
companion.  He  had  been  an  exile  in  Don  Miguel's 
time,  and  had  resided  three  years  at  Exeter.  He 
still  spoke  English  well.  On  our  return  to  the  inn, 
the  gentlemen  insisted  on  his  helping  us  all  out  with 
a  bottle  of  his  own  present  of  champagne ;  for  he 
had  sent  us  some  half-dozen  bottles  in  the  morning, 
and  also  two  bottles  of  Scotch  ale,  which  one  of 
our  two  cavaliers  stowed  away  for  future  service  as 
^'  a  juice,  far  more  precious  in  this  latitude  than 
champagne,  or  even  than  tokay.     Put  that  down  in 

your  journal,'^  said  Mr. .    "  What  V   ''  The  two 

bottles  of  ale,  and  the  good  fellow  who  sent  them  to 


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BARCELLOS  TO  PONTE  DE  LIMA.  53 

lis/'   So  here  they  are  duly  recorded.    Before  Senhor 

Gr had  left  us,  a  person  from  Ponte  de  Lima  was 

shown  up  tons ;  he  had  been  sent  by  Senhor  M 

and  his  family,  who  had  been  expecting  us  for  the  last 
two  or  three  days,  and  somehow  or  other  had  been 
informed  of  our  arrival  at  Barcellos.    By  the  advice 

of  Senhor  G we  had  resolved  to  go  to  Viana  first, 

and  thence  up  the  river  to  Ponte  de  Lima.  But  this 
messenger  represented  that  it  would  be  a  great  disap- 
pointment to  Senhor  M if  we  did  not  go  direct 

to  his  house.    We  therefore  changed  our  plan. 

I  do  not  pretend  to  meddle  with  the  history  and 
antiquities  of  Barcellos;  Father  Poyares's  "pane- 
gyric '*  on  this  old  place  may  serve  as  a  beginning 
for  the  curious  reader.  For  the  annual  miraculous 
appearance  here  of  crosses  in  the  air,  see  Bluteau. 

Mat  26th. 

We  were  not  ready  for  a  start  till  after  eight  this 
morning.    When  the  luggage  was  adjusted  on  the 

mule,  J ,  who  had  been  the  first  to  mount,  was 

moving  out  of  the  way,  at  which  the  mule  became 
uneasy,  thinking,  said  the  surly  muleteer,  that  her 
favourite  white  horse  was  going  to  leave  her;    so 


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54  LIKfi  MAN  LIKE  MULE. 

there  Kras  a  kick  or  two^  and  a  cniccessfiil  straggle  to 
break  the  hatter  hj  which  she  was  tethered  to  the 
wall ;  another  wicked  kick  or  two  dislodged  the  Ing*^ 
gage,  and  down  came  the  stupid  mnle,  bmising  one 
of  her  knees,  and  her  side;  and  onr  things  lay  all 

littered  aboat  the  gronnd.    Mr. was  alarmed 

for  the  champagne-flasks,  and  yet  more  for  the  two 
bottles  of  Edinbn^h  ale;  bnt  he  had  had  them  packed 
so  cnnnmgly  in  a  covered  basket,  that  they  were  all 
safe.  After  some  coaxing,  and  reproaches,  and  ex- 
postulation, the  mule  suffered  hoself  to  be  re-loaded ; 
but  still  the  cargo  was  not  nicely  balanced,  and  she 
winced,  and  went  awry,  and  gave  symptoms  of  medi- 
tated mutiny.  The  muleteer,  who  looked  fiightened, 
now  assured  us  that  she  wanted  a  man  on  her  back, 
to  make  the  baggage  ride  more  steadily,  and  he 
desired  our  man  Orenho  to  mount.  On  the  first 
day^s  march,  £rom  Oporto  to  Barcellos,  he  and  the 
muleteer  had  trudged  about  thirty-five  miles,  and  we 
were  sorry  that  we  had  not  been  more  liberal  in  this 
part  of  our  arrangements,  and  taken  another  mule 
that  they  might  ride  and  tie,  though  it  is  the  com- 
mon custom  of  the  country  for  the  attendants  to  go 
on  foot  on  such  journeys.     Orenho  would,  on  that 


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HOW  TO  QUIET  A  MULE.  55 

first  dsLjf  gladly  liaye  mounted^  but  the  muleteer 
would  not  let  him;  but  now  that  the  mule  had  be- 
trayed her  vieiouA  character^  he  deelined  the  honour 
of  riding.  In  a  little  while^  however^  the  animal 
seeming  quieter,  he  was  emboldened,  and  contrived 
to  get  on  her,  after  several  failures.  The  mule^s 
feelings  being  thus  composed  by  the  additional 
weight  of  twelve  or  thirteen  stone,  we  proceeded 
without  further  accident  through  a  highly  interest- 
ing country.  The  mixture  of  cultivation  and  wild- 
ness,  the  feurmed  valleys,  and  the  rough  serras,^  the 
varieties  of  verdure  and  of  flowers,  the  glocmi  of  pine 
trees  that  clan  like  rooks  in  thousands,  and  the  vari- 
ous shades,  and  sometimes  lights^  of  green,  of  the 
other  cone^bearing  &miliesj  and  the  cypresses^ 
cedars,  and  cork  trees;  the  classical  and  fruitful,  but 
at  present  only  flowerful,  insignificant-looking  olive 
trees;  the  churches  and  oratories,  with  their  stone- 
crossesy  on  every  high  pinnacle,  as  well  as  on  hill- 
sides and  in  the  valleys;  and  lastly,  the  beauteous 
and  rich  vale  of  the  Lima,  with  mountain-btickground 
whichever  way  you  looked;  the  graceful  river  Lima 

*  Serra,  Portuguese;  Sierra,  Spanish.    A  mountain  with  ridges; 
jagged  like  a  law. 


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56  PORTUGUESE  HOSPITALITY. 

itself^  with  its  old  long  bridge;  the  picturesque  small 
town^  the  quinias,  the  decayed  mansions  of  Fidalgos^ 
the  very  ancient  buildings  and  remains  of  buildings 
in  and  near  the  town^  all  combined  to  give  memor- 
able effect  to  our  journey  this  day.   Our  host,  Senhor 

M ^metusatabouthalf-a-league&omPonte.  We 

rode  under  a  long  and  capital  ramada  through  his 
estate,  which  was  in  high  and  clean  cultivation,  along 
the  pleasant  banks  of  the  Lima,  to  his  house  in  the 
town,  the  best  in  the  place.  He  received  not  only 
ourselves,  but  the  servants  and  quadrupeds,  in  spite 
of  our  entreaties  that  they  should  be  sent  to  the  inn. 
His  wife  and  children  also  gave  us  an  evidently  cor- 
dial welcome.  We  dined  shortly  after  our  arrival, 
which  was  about  2  p.m.  The  party  consisted  of 
sixteen  persons,  including  our  host  and  hostess,  their 
son,  a  youth  of  fifteen,  and  daughter,  about  fourteen, 

a  Senhor  C and  his  sister,  and  other  Portuguese. 

Our  host  had  been  in  England,  and  the  biQ  of  fare 
wiQ  show  that  he  gave  us,  in  fact,  something  very 
like  a  good  plain  English  dinner.  Two  soups,  bread- 
soup  and  macaroni ;  two  dishes  of  trout,  boiled  beef 
and  bacon,  and  a  ham;  roasted  chickens,  a  roasted 
turkey,  &c. ;  the'  boiled  things  first,  then  the  roast, 


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PONTE  DE  LIMA.  57 

then  sweetmeats  and  pastry,  then  cheese,  and  fiiiit ; 
white  and  red  wines,  and  French  liqueur,  pretty  much 
in  the  order  in  which  such  things  are  served  at  an 
English  table.    After  dinner  we  walked  with  our  host 

and  Senhor  C to  a  handsome  but  neglected-look- 

ing  quinta,  formerly  the  residence  of  the  Conde  de 
Freire  one  of  the  ministers  of  John  VI.  We  passed 
the  house  of  the  brotherhood  of  San  Luiz,  to  which 
Fra  Francisco  de  San  Luiz  belonged,  the  Biy)o  Conde ^ 
who  was  more  than  once  president  of  the  chamber 
of  peers.  He  was  Bishop  of  Coimbra,  the  author 
of  some  statistical  works  on  Portugal,  and  other 
esteemed  writings,  and  was  considered  one  of  the 
most  learned  men  of  his  time.  We  also  saw  in  the 
town  a  house  of  the  Silveiras,  and  an  old  mansion 
of  the  same  family,  on  a  hill  at  a  distance.  The 
name  will  recal  a  nobleman  who  made  a  noise  in 
this  country  a  few  years  ago,  the  Marquis  of  Chaves ; 
a  madman  he  was,  say  the  new  chartermongers ;  a 
vardo — a  man — ^he  was,  like  the  Silveiras  of  old 
times,  say  those  to  whom  old-fashioned  bigotries  are 
dearer  than  newfangled  inconsistencies. 

I  had  not  time  to  learn  anything  worth  relating 
about  certain  venerable  edifices  of  Ponte  de  Lima; 
i>3 


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58  DIOGO  BERNARDSS. 

arifltocratic  houi^s— ^verjr  one  of  which  miut  hare  ft 
history — sqiiat^  towers^  old  p&lace^  Moorish  mosque, 
still  entire^  and  now  a  chapel ;  and  t  had  nothing 
like  an  authentic  book^  old  or  new^  at  hand  to  give 
me  some  glimmering  of  insight  into  their  mjsteries. 
On  the  banks  of  the  Lima  the  poet  Diogo  Ber* 
nardes  was  borb^  one  of  the  too  nnmerons^  bnt  one 
of  the  best,  pastoral  potets  of  Portugal.  His  compo^ 
sitions  are  not  free  from  a  sameness  and  a  tameness 
that  characterise  the  peninsular  literature  in  this 
vein.  His  numbers  flow  very  sweetly;  but  I  am  not 
sure  that  either  in  his  eclogues  or  in  his  love-lyrics 
there  is  much  more  of  real  tehdemess  perceptible 
than  can  be  found  in  other  Arcadian  effiisions.  His 
true  love  of  his  native  place,  however,  is  unquestion>- 
able.  It  is  shown  perpetually  in  his  writings,  one 
volume  of  which  he  called  "The  Lima,'*  the  other, 
"  Flowers  of  the  Lima/*  When  one  hears  him  apos- 
trophise a  shepherdess  on  the  margin  of  this  river, 

"  0,  Nise,  Nise,  Lima,  Lima,  Lima," 

one  cannot  but  suspect  that  the  heroine  of  his  raptures 
is  as  ideal  a  personage  as  the  Nymph  of  the  stream, 
and  that  the  poetic  stream  itself  is  the  sole  source  of 


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THE  POET  OF  THE  LIMA.  69 

his  inspiration.  Whatever  the  quality  of  that  inspi- 
ration  may  be^  however^  Lope  de  Vega  has  declared 
that  he  was  taught  to  compose  pastoral  verse  by  the 
eclogues  of  Bemardes.  One  might  suppose  the 
^'  Sweet  songster  of  the  Lima^'^  as  he  has  been  styled^ 
to  have  passed  a  dreamy  existence  on  its  borders. 
Yet  he  was  a  man  of  the  world,  and  lived  in  the 
world ;  he  was  not  only  a  poet,  but  a  courtier,  who 
knew  how  to  rise  at  court.  He  was  cotemporary  with 
Camoens^  and  has  been  accused,  but  I  believe  un- 
justly, of  having  plagiarised  some  of  his  minor 
writings.  Certain,  however,  it  is,  that,  both  as  a 
poet  and  a  courtier,  he  gained  personal  distinctions 
which  Camoens  never  gained:  among  them  the 
peculiar  favour  of  his  young  sovereign,  Sebastian, 
who  assigned  to  him  the  honour — ^unenvjable  as  it 
turned  out — of  accompanying  him  on  his  expedition 
to  Africa,  as  the  poet  of  victories  there  to  be  achieved. 
Camoens  had  almost  solicited  this  honour  at  the  con- 
clusion of  his  noble  epic.  Bemardes,  before  the  ex- 
pedition sailed,  wrote  a  soniiet,  anticipatory  of  the 
triumphs  that  he  was  to  witness.  Both  poets,  proved 
false  prophets :  Camoens  staid  at  home  to  die  broken- 
hearted, tiianking  Gk>d  that  he  '^  died  with  his  count 


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6a  PONTE  DE  LIMA. 

try;''  Bernardes  was  taken  prisoner  on  the  field 
where  Sebastian  fell^  and  his  Carmen  Triumphale 
ended  in  a  dirge.  After  severe  sufferings — ^the  suf- 
ferings of  a  Christian  shive  in  Barbary — he  was  ran- 
somed^ and  returned  to  Lisbon^  where  he  died  in 
1596^  having  survived  his  king  about  eighteen  years^ 
and  outlived  Camoens  but  a  few  months  less. 

Mat  27th. 
We  did  not  breakfast  tiU  eleven  o'clock ;  for  some 
of  our  party  consoled  themselves  for  the  fatigues  of 
travel  by  sleeping  till  nearly  that  hour,  not  aware 
that  all  the  family,  though  early  risers,  were  politely 
fasting  tin  their  guests  appeared,  and  would  not 
suffer  them  to  be  disturbed.  No  Scotch  breakfast 
was  ever  better  than  ours  to-day.  Coffee,  tea,  beef- 
steaks,  quince  marmalade,  and  other  sweetmeats, 
with  bread  as  white  as  milk.  The  table  was  taste- 
fully decorated  with  flowers.  We  passed  our  morn- 
ing, or  rather,  afternoon,  in  sketching,  lounging, 
sauntering,   and  the   dolce  far  niente,    which  was 

really  dolce  to  the  wearied  limbs  of  J and 

myself,  who  were  new  campaigners.  We  dined  about 
five,   and   in  the  evening  the   drawing-room  was 


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SOIREE.  61 

filled  with  visitors,  invited  by  our  hostess.  The 
beauty  of  the  ladies  was  not  so  remarkable  as  their 
affability  and  lively  good-humonr.  There  was  not 
a  pretty  girl  among  them ;  but  every  one  of  them 
had  good  teeth,  dark  eyes,  and  jet-black  hair.  They 
were  all  dressed  nearly  alike;  plainly,  in  black. 
Some  of  the  young  men  were  better-looking;  but 
they  were  more  reserved,  had  more  starch  in  their 
manner,  than  their  sisters.  Two  or  three  of  the 
young  ladies  played  difficult  pieces  of  Italian  music, 
from  recent  and  fashionable  operas,  admirably  on  the 
piano.  One  of  the  young  gentlemen,  after  much 
soUcitation  by  the  lady  of  the  house,  overcame  his 
bashftilness,  and  sang,  with  good  voice  and  good 
taste,  several  very  pretty  though  melancholy  and 
rather  monotonous  vnodinhas.    But  the  star  of  the 

night  was  Senhor  Jeronymo ,  a  professor  of  music, 

who  had  been  a  pupil  of  a  celebrated  pianist,  Senhor 
Bom  TempOy  Good  Time — ^no  bad  name  for  a  musician. 
Senhor  Jeronymo  performed  on  the  pianoforte  with 
exquisite  delicacy ;  but  one  of  the  ladies  present,  a 
maiden  lady  of  about  forty,  continued  exclaiming 
every  minute,  "Bravo,  Senhor  Jeronymo,  ah  I — 
bravo,   Senhor  Jeronymo.^'      The  effect  was  most 


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62  u  WILL  YOU  WRITE ! »» 

ladicrous;  for  bo  other  person  uttered  a  syllable^ 
and  the  short  way  in  which  she  snapped  out  so 
repeatedly,  ^' Bravo,  Senhor  Jeronymol^^  cut  the 
music,  as  it  were,  into  bars  in  the  wrong  pUices. 
The  effort  of  the  silent  auditory  to  keep  grave  faces 
was  painfdlly  comical.  Benhor  Jeronymo  also  sang 
an  Italian  aria,  and  was,  as  before,  interrupted  in 
his  most  critical  quavers  by  the  enthusiastic  lady. 
"  Bravo,  Senhor  Jeronymo !  Ai,  que  gracinhal^* — 
(ah,  what  darling  grace !)  But  we  had  some  plain 
tidk,  as  well  as  vocal  and  instrumental  harmony. 
Admiral  Napier  (Don  Pedro's  admiral — ^the  Nelson 
of  his  cause)  lodged  himself  in  this  house  in  the 
course  of  his  gaUant  vagaries  as  an  amphibious 
warrior  in  the  north  of  Portugal,  after  his  exploit  at 
Cape  St.  Vincent.  Senhor  C gave  a  curious  ac- 
count of  his  bluntness  of  deportment  to  the  astonished 

natives.  Senhor  C called  on  him  here.  ''What  do 

you  want  ?''  inquired  the  admiral*  He  was  lounging 
on  the  80&  in  the  drawing-room,  smoking  a  cigar; 
he  WM  dressed  in  clothes  once  blue,  now  of  no  co- 
lour; and  was  altogether  the  most  slovenly-looking 
of  heroes. — ''  I  called  to  pay  my  respects.^' — "  WiU 
you  write?'' — ''Whatever  your  Excellency  pleases." 


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••MUITO  OBRfGADO.''  63 

The  admiral  throws  his  dgar  out  of  window^  takeft  a 
pinch  of  fsnxiSf  and  reflects*  ^'  Write  then  to  the  Joi^ 
de  Fora^  he  must  feed  all  my  men  directlj.  Is  that 
done?  '*— "  Yes/'—"  Send  it  oflf  then/'— A  pinch  of 
snufif.  "  Write  to  such  an  authority  of  such  and  such 
a  parish  or  village;  he  must  famish  three  bullocks, 
&c.  &c. '/'  and  So  he  went  on,  taking  pinches  of  snuff, 
and  issuing  his  requisitions.  The  abbot  and  prin- 
cipals of  a  neighbouring  monastery  waited  on  him  in 
form.  They  were  introduced,  and  ranged  themselves 
in  semicircle,  making  their  bows.  The  admiral  on 
his  sofa  seemed  in  a  '*  brown  study/'  till  reminded  by 
some  gentlemen  that  these  visitors  were  persons  of 
distinction.  ^' What  do  they  want  ?" — "  They  come 
to  offer  their  compliments  to  your  Excellency/' — He 
got  up,  inclined  his  head,  and  thanked  them,  ^'  Mtdtd 
obrigadOy  muito  obrigado" — ^much  obliged,  much  ob- 
liged— and  bowed  them  out.  His  demeanour  here 
was  thought  altogether  rough  and  eccentric.  I  dare 
say  he  had  neither  leisure  nor  inclination  to  bandy 
compliments  with  Portuguese  gentlemen  and  friars, 
the  greater  part  of  whom,  he  might  well  suspect, 
wished  him  and  all  Don  Pedro's  partisans  at  the 
bottom  of  the  Atlantic  ocean.     I  give  this  report. 


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64  THE  LIMA. 

without  offence^  I  trusty  just  as  it  was  made  to  us  by 

Senhor  C y  and  confirmed  by  several  of  Senhor 

M ^'s  friends.     Senhor  M was  absent  at  the 

time  of  Napier's  foray ;  for  he,  too,  had  found  it  pru- 
dent to  expatriate  himself  during  the  tyranny  of  Don 
Miguel,  by  whose  government  every  man  of  substance 
and  of  local  influence,  who  did  not  declare  himself 
for  the  "king  absolute,^'  was  treated  as  a  foe  and  a 
traitor.     Senhor  M took  refuge  at  Liverpool. 

Mat  27th. 
We  set  off  in  a  boat,  at  8  a.m.,  accompanied  by 

Senhor  M ,  down  the  delightful  Lima.    The  sail 

was  arranged  over  the  centre  of  the  boat  as  a  coved 

awning,  and  under  it  was  a  couch  all  ready  for  J 

and  me,  and  a  basket  with  wine  and  cake,  &c.  Thus 
the  attentions  of  our  host  and  hostess  were  minutely 
thoughtful  to  the  last.  The  sail  protected  us  from 
the  sun,  without  impeding  our  view.  Two  men,  one 
at  the  head,  the  other  at  the  stem,  shoved  the  boat 
along  with  poles.  The  bed  of  the  river  is  of  soft, 
clean  sand,  and  abounds  with  shallows,  through 
which  the  men  are  sometimes  obliged  to  dig  chan- 
nels; though  the  flat  boat  in  which  we  were,  not 


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THE  LIMA.  65 

drawing  above  half-a-foot  of  water,  would,  probably, 
seldom  or  never  require  such  a  clearance — at  least, 
unless  mucb  more  heavily  freighted  than  it  was  now. 
At  Bertiendos,  about  two  miles  below  Ponte  de  Lima, 
we  observed  a  handsome  quinta  belonging  to  a  fidalgo, 
— a  stately  house,  with  stone  pinnacles,  open  galle- 
ries, square  stone  tower,  battlemented,  and  standing 
within  a  grove  of  noble  trees.  We  were  told  that  it 
was  occupied  by  lineal  descendants  of  those  Fereiras 
whom  old  Gil  Vicente  describes. 

**  They  are  thorongh-bred  nobles  and  good  cavalierB, 
Good  defenders  of  right,  if  ike  cost  be  not  theirs  ; 
Full  of  zeal  for  the  reahn,  both  abroad  and  at  home  ; 
And,  when  once  they  are  married,  not  given  to  roam. — 
But  the  women,  the  genuine  pride  of  the  race  ; 
Oh,  they  are  the  women  for  beauty  and  grace ! 
No  flowers  are  so  lovely,  no  bhrds  are  so  gay, 
And  a  spell  is  in  all  that  they  do  and  they  say." 

At  Passagens,  a  mile  or  two  lower  down,  our 
worthy  host  took  leave  of  us,  and  mounted  his  horse. 
We  often  could  perceive  our  own  horses  and  mule, 
along  the  river  side,  leisurely  wending  towards  the 
same  point  to  which  we  were  so  pleasantly  gliding. 
We,  too,  however,  were  tempted  to  land  at  Veiga  de 
Corilho,  on  the  edge  of  a  plain,  three  leagues  in 
extent,  well  cultivated,  and  now  alive  with  waving 


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66  THE  LIMA. 

rye^  nearly  fit  for  the  sickle.  This  plain  is  backed 
by  cone-flhaped  rocky  hdlk^  The  fi^er  banks  are 
more  than  £ringed  mik  oaks  and  olives:  the  old 
dire  trees  thus  intermingled  with  oaks  by  no  mean» 
disfigure  the  landscape;  the  lichen-stamed  tnmk  is 
ahnost  as  picturesque  as  that  of  the  time-silvered 
birch.  Under  the  far-spread  shade  of  the  oak»  we 
sauntered  along  for  a  mile  or  two^  then  took  to  the 
boat  again.  On  a  hill  to  the  left  is  a  pretty  chapel^ 
Nossa  Senhora  da  boa  morte,  '^Our  Lady  of  the  good 
death /^  and  another^  not  far  off^  San  Estevao  da 
facha^  "  St.  Stephen  of  the  torch.'*  On  the  r^ht 
bank^  we  have  passed  the  small  white  chapel  of  St. 
Christopher,  on  a  grey  rockj  lower,  the  chapel  of 
St.  Justa.  Yonder,  on  the  left  bank  again,  is  Yicto- 
rina,  a  hamlet,  near  the  Casa  dos  Abrens  Cotinhos, 
a  mansion  which  was  grossly  abused  a  few  years  ago, 
and  had  all  its  furniture  destroyed  by  the  Natumai 
Guard  of  Fonte  de  Lima,  because  MiguelUe  papers 
were  found,  or  pretended  to  have  been  found,  there. 
But  the  '^little  wars''  of  retaliation  are  nevar 
ended  in  Pcnrtugal.  Miguelites  and  Pedroites,  Hump* 
backs  and  Thumped-backs,  Chartists  and  Septem- 
brists,  &c.,  &c.,  for  ever  re-appear  under  some  new 


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THE  LIMA.  67 

nickname  or  otW^  said  fight  their  little  spites^  and 
neyer  fight  them  ont ;  and  «o  it  will  eter  be,  unlesfs 
this  fair  region  shall  at  last  be  blest  #ith  &  strong 
and  honest  goi^^mment.  It  is  a  pity  th^  the  noi-^ 
some  subject  of  Portuguese  discords  mil  obtrude 
itself  6Terjr«rhere,  even  on  the  Limft^  Biit  yonder 
are  some  men  flsh-spearing ;  better  that  than  spear- 
ing one  another.  Just  now  we  passed  a  group  of 
fishers  netting.  As  we  glide  along  we  are  greeted, 
in  mid-river,  by  men  who  are  wading  across  with 
baskets  on  their  heads;  the  first  men  that  I  havi^ 
seen  esirrying  burthens  in  that  fashion ;  but  hands 
and  staff  are  needed  here  td  steady  them  acroi^s  the 
unequal  shoals.  Nightingales  are  in  full  song  in  the 
hazel  fmd  olive  copses  with  which  the  river  margin 
is  decorated  as  with  hedgerows—"  hardly  hedgerows, 
little  lines  of  sportive  wood  tun  wild.^^  The  distant 
cudkoos  are  eaUing  to  each  other.  Now  we  come  upon 
a  fleet  of  boats,  in  ftill  sail ;  for  here  is  deeper  water, 
— above  twenty  boats,  and  a  very  pretty  fleet  it  is. 
They  are  working  up  from  Yiana  to  Ponte  de  Idma 
with  bacalMOi  &c.,  and  empty  pipes  to  fetch  wine. 
Blue  dragon-flies — ^blue,  green,  golden-^are  hovering 
over  the  water ;  and  in  the  water  is  a  kind  of  long 


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68  THE  LIMA. 

delicate  weed,  that  looks  like  seaweed,  the  finest,  most 
heautifiil  that  ever  was  seen ;  hut  it  is  the  growth  of 
the  river  sand,  for  there  it  has  its  root,  and  the  long 
fibres  wave  and  stream  under  the  current  with  more 
life  than  the  current  itself,  and  look,  indeed,  like  the 
tresses  of  some  group  of  Nymphs  whom  the  silver 
sands  have  suddenly  hidden  at  our  approach,  leaving 
nothing  of  them  visible  but  their  hair.  The  sky 
above  and  around  is  all  bright  azure — no,  not  all  just 
now;  for  there  are  eider-down-like  clouds,  with 
brown  edges  hovering  over  the  mountains,  which 
those  white  clouds  darken,  but  not  sadden,  with  their 
shadows.  The  men  have  now  taken  to  their  pad- 
dles, and  we  glide  along  against  the  breeze,  if  breeze 
it  may  be  called,  that  comes  so  soft,  and  so  fragrant 
from  the  west,  and  need  not  *'  whisper  whence  it 
stole  its  balmy  sweets,^^  for  yonder  is  the  orchard  it 
has  been  robbing — -a  grove  of  orange  trees  and  lemon 
trees  in  flower.  The  hues  of  the  slightly  rippled 
and  quite  transparent  river  are  now  more  beautifiil 
than  ever.  As  we  look  down  through  the  water, 
the  eflFect  on  the  sandy  bed  is  as  if  it  was  overlaid 
with  a  golden  network  of  large  open  meshes.  This 
is  the  reflection  of  the   slightly-curled  water,  the 


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THE  LIMA,  69 

edges  of  tlie  little  waves  sparkling  and  dancing  in 
the  snn^  and  so  on  the  light  clean  sand  beneath. 
In  some  places  the  effect  of  the  sim  on  the  surface 
of  the  water  is  that  of  myriads  of  diamonds  dancing. 
Almost  all  the  way  down,  on  both  banks,  except 
with  such  intervals  as  make  an  agreeable  variety,  by 
letting  US  in  to  peeps  at  the  fields,  the  river  is  luxu- 
riantly edged,  but  not  hedged,  with  brushwood;  and 
the  branches,  not  only  of  the  olives  and  tall  oaks, 
already  spoken  of,  but  of  this  underwood,  reach  far 
over  upon  the  stream  in  many  places,  and  there,  on 
the  hthe  twigs,  the  nightingales  swing  and  sing.  I 
saw  some  of  them  perched  in  this  manner,  while 
they  sang  against  each  other  ^' with  so  merry  a  note.^' 
They  were  not  so  shy  of  being  seen  as  nightingales 
usually  are  in  England,  where,  though  they  seem  to 
like  a  populous  neighbourhood,  they  shun  the  eye  of 
man  or  woman.  Of  the  scores  of  these  birds  that  I 
have  heard  at  Richmond  on  Thames,  at  Woolwich, 
and  other  frequented  places,  I  have  seldom  espied 
one,  though,  like  Chaucer's  Lady  of  the  Flower  and 
the  Leaf,  and  many  a  time, 

"  I  waited  aboat  busily 
On  every  side,  if  I  'that  bird '  might  see." 


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70         \  VIANA. 

I  suppose  they  are  here  unmolested  by  bird*snarers^ 
aad  too  happy  to  be  suspicious. 

Withiu  a  league  of  Yiana  the  tide  comes  up^  aud 
the  river  widens ;  we  heard  no  more  nightingales. 
On  the  left  of  the  river^  near  Yiana^  is  a  hill^  with  its 
backbone  bristled  up  with  pines^  a  striking  isolated 
object. 

We  were  almost  sorry  to  arrive  at  Yiana,  so  plea- 
sant had  been  the  passage  down  the  Lima.    Our 

horses  were  ahready  at  the  pier.   J and  I  mounted 

ours,  and  the  gentlemen  walked  by  us  to  the  house 

of  Mr.N ,  of  Oporto,  who  had,  with  his  ever-ready 

gentlemanly  kindness,  (the  air  of  doing  himself  a 
favour  whea  he  was  bestowing  one)  commanded  us 
to  make  that  house  our  hotel. 

Mat  29ih. 

The  hospitality  of  Mr.  N ^s  representative  here, 

and  the  excessive  heat  of  the  day,  caused  us  to  be 
later  in  starting  than  we  had  intended.  We  had 
ordered  our  mule-man  to  be  ready  at  3  p.m.  The 
surly  fellow  mounted  the  baggage  mule  and  started 
oflF  without  us,  at  the  hour.  At  five,  we  set  out,  first 
riding  round  the  town,  accompanied  by  some  Portu- 
guese friends  of  our  English  friend  Mr.  N ,  look- 


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yiANA.  71 

ing  3,t  the  GtuldhaU^  a  bald-fronted  stone  house, 
another  civic  building,  (of  which  I  forget  the  name 
and  use ;  but  it  had  a  handsomely  sculptured  stone 
front,)  the  churches,  convents,  the  queer  long  swt  of 
aigzag  bridge,  fee,  and  the  castle, — a  strongly-barred, 
dismal  prison  on  the  sea-side. 

We  then  pursued  our  way,  and  our  ftigitive  baggage 
and  arriero,  passing  two  hamlets,  Arioso  and  Gare90, 
where  reside  the  women  and  children  by  whom  the 
lands  in  the  neighbourhood  are  almost  exclusively 
cultivated ;  the  men,  for  the  most  part,  emigrating 
to  Lisbon  for  more  remunerative  work.  These  women 
all  look  old,  and  their  young  fellow-labourers  have 
the  appearance  of  imps  rather  than  children.  The 
constant  exposure  and  exertion  seem  to  deform  their 
features  as  much  as  they  darken  their  skins.  Our 
way  from  Yiana,  at  first,  was  along  a  fair  sandy  road; 
on  the  left,  a  plain  of  corn-fields  to  the  sea-side;  on 
the  right,  grey  hills  with  rough  ridges.  The  villages 
are  mostly  on  the  side  of  these  rocks.  The  latter  part 
of  our  journey  was  over  soft  sands,  then  through  a 
village;  and  then  we  came  to  an  extensive  pine- 
wood,  on  the  nearest  outskirt  of  which  we  found 
our  arriero  waiting.    He  had  halted,  afraid,  as  he 


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72  VIANA- 

confessed^  of  going  through  the  wood  alone^  lest  he 
should  be  robbed.  His  cowardice  satisfied  us  of  one 
things  that  he  was  not  a  rogue  as  well  as  a  sot ;  for 
nothing  would  have  been  easier  for  him,  had  he  been 
so  inclined,  than  to  have  arranged  a  robbery  with  some 
of  his  pot-companions  at  any  lone  venda,  and  so  to 
have  eased  the  mule  of  her  load  in  this  very  wood,  or 
some  other  convenient  spot,  without  any  witness  that 
would  "  peach/^  He  might  even  have  done  worse, 
without  much  risk  of  proof  against  him.  A  posse  of 
rufiBians,  supposing  him  to  have  been  in  intelligence 
with  such  persons,  might  in  this  wood,  or  in  any 
other  of  the  many  lone  woods  and  wilds  that  we  trar 
versed,  have  robbed  the  whole  party  of  everything 
valuable  about  them,  for  we  had  no  arms  with  us. 
This  mode  of  plunder  by  connivance  of  the  muleteer 
does  not  often  occur ;  for  most  of  the  arrieros  are  as 
trustworthy  as  Arab  guides.  I  can,  however,  cite 
two  instances  in  which  personal  friends  of  ours  seem 
to  have  been  betrayed  by  their  guides.  Our  compa- 
nion, Mr.  H ,  can  furnish  the  particulars  of  one 

of  these  adventures. 

Let  us  ask  him. — ^Mr.  H y  what  o^ clock  is  it  ? 

— "  Why  do  you  ask  me  ?    You  are  always  asking 


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MR.  H 'S  ADVENTURE.  73 

me  what  o'clock  it  is,  and  you  know  I  have  no 
watch !" — "And  how  come  you  to  have  no  watch  V^ 
— "You  know  as  well  as  I  do/' — "But  I  should 
like  to  hear  the  very  particulars  from  yourself.  I 
have  not  yet  heard  them  from  your  own  mouth/' — 
"Well,  then,  it  is  a  short  story;  unless  I  make  it  a 
long  one  to  revenge  myself  on  your  impertinence.  I 
was  lately  at  Vizeu.  A  young  gentleman,  also  from 
Oporto,  was  with  me.  We  were  about  to  return 
home  by  Lamego  and  the  Alto  Douro.  At  Vizeu, 
where  we  were  both  strangers,  we  hired,  from  a  man 
whom  we  knew  nothing  about  and  who  knew  nothing 
about  us,  two  mules  to  ride,  and  an  arriero  to  walk- 
all  three  very  bad.  The  arriero  was  an  old  fellow, 
and  very  slow,  but  not  slower  than  his  mules,  so  he 
had  no  fear  of  being  left  behind.  We  had  a  terrible 
pull  to  Castro  d'  Aire.  Whenever  a  village  came  in 
sight,  we  asked,  ^  Is  that  Castro  d'  Aire  ? ' — '  No, 
Sir,'  was  still  the  answer.  At  last  we  approached  a 
considerable  cluster  of  houses  on  the  edge  of  a  ravine. 
'  Is  that  Castro  d'  Aire  ? '  we  eagerly  inquired  of  a 
passing  countryman.  ^Abr'  olho^  (Open  your  eyes), 
he  answered  with  a  grin.  Uncivil  churl  I  thought 
we ;  but  the  name  of  the  place  was  Abr'  olhos.    The 

VOL.  I.  E 


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74  MR.  H 

man  then  pointed  out  to  us  a  confused  mass  of  build- 
ings on  the  other  side  of  the  ravine.  That  was  Castro 
d'  Aire,  a  very  picturesque  object  at  this  distance;  a 
wretched  place  on  nearer  acquaintance.  Wedescended 
to  the  edge  of  the  gully,  crossed  the  bridge  over  the 
rushing  Paiva,  and  painfuUy  climbed  the  steep  to 
Castro  d'  Aire,  whose  walls  and  steeples  looked  as  if  a 
touch  might  hurl  them  down  the  precipice.     In  this 
place  we  passed  a  miserable  night.    The  filthy  hovel 
called  an  inn  was  full  of  mule-drivers  and  vagabonds.'^ — 
"  Never  mind ;  go  on." — "  But  some  of  them  minded 
ttSy  and  would  not  let  us  go  on." — ''Ay,  come  to 
that." — ''All  in  good  time,  ma^am ;  hurry  no  man^s 
cattle;  the  mules  are  slow.     At  day-break  we  left 
Castro  d^  Aire,  in  a  thick  fog  which  soon  turned  to 
drizzling  rain.      When  we  had  proceeded  about  a 
league  we  overtook  a  blind  beggar  mounted   on  a 
donkey,  with  an  old  man  on  foot,  who  acted  as  his 
guide,  and  we  all  jogged  on  together.     Presently  my 
mule  threw  a  shoe;    this  occasioned  some  delay; 
we   stopped  at   every  hut  or  hamlet  we  came  to, 
inquiring  for  a  farrier,  but  without  success.     We  had 
just  gained  the  top  of  a  particularly  steep  and  broken 
piece  of  road,  and  my  mule,  &om  which  I  had  got  off, 


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MR.  H .  75 

was  already  limping,  when  I  was  joined  by  a  pedes- 
trian in  the  common  dress  of  a  farm-servant.  He 
offered  to  lead  the  disabled  animal.  We  declined  his 
services,  but  h^  continued  to  walk  and  talk  with  me. 
I  was  now  in  the  rear  of  the  party.  Shortly  after,  I 
was  overtaken  by  a  horseman,  well  mounted  and 
armed,  attended  by  an  arriero,  whom  he  was  upbraid- 
ing for  having  let  him  sleep  too  long.  '  Pray  what 
o^ clock  is  it,  Sir  ?^  said  he  to  me,  with  a  grave  salute. 
I  took  out  my  watch,  and  answered  eight  o^clock. 
He  thanked  me  and  hurried  on.  By  and  by,  on 
turning  a  comer  of  the  road,  I  was  surprised  to  meet 
the  said  horseman  coming  back  alone,  and  faster 
than  he  had  left  me.  When  within  ten  paces  of  me, 
he  levelled  his  carbine,  and  commanded  me  to  stop 
on  pain  of  death.  I  suppose  I  looked  rebellious,  for 
the  peasant  at  my  side  suddenly  pinioned  my  arms 
behind,  and  told  me  not  to  make  an  ass  of  myself! 
In  a  minute  or  two  all  my  party  was  brought  back, 
beggar  on  donkey  and  all,  by  others  of  the  gang  who 
had  burst  out  upon  them  from  the  brushwood.  The 
horseman  now  dismounted,  and  telling  us  that  he  was 
a  soap-guard,  an  officer  employed  by  the  contractors 
for  the  soap  monopoly,  and  that  he  had  received 
E  2 


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76  MR.  H . 

information  that  we  were  engaged  in  smuggling 
soap  from  Spain,  declared  that  we  must  accompany 
him  to  the  commissary  of  the  nearest  village.  They 
then  led  us  a  good  way  off  the  main-road,  the  captain 
always  keeping  his  carhine  ready,  within  rather  a 
ticklish  distance  of  myself.  Finally,  after  crossing 
several  fields  and  inclosures,  they  came  to  a  small 
wood  of  oak-pollards.  '  This  will  do,^  cried  the 
head  thief.  In  a  moment  our  vaUses  were  taken  off 
the  mules  and  thoroughly  rifled,  each  thief  helping 
himself.  We,  too,  were  carefully  searched,  and  eased 
not  only  of  the  contents  of  our  pockets,  but  of  our 
very  coats  and  waistcoats.  The  rascall,  however, 
seemed  grievously  disappointed  at  the  amount  of 
their  booty,  for  they  only  got  thirty  or  forty  crowns 
in  money ;  and  they  reproachfully  assured  us,  that  if 
they  had  known  we  were  worth  so  little,  they  would 
not  have  taken  so  much  trouble! — "But  your  watch, 

Mr.  H ?" — "  Yes,  they  got  our  two  watches  and 

chains ;  that  was  the  worst  of  it/^ — "  And  was  that 
all  that  happened?'' — '^Not  quite  :  they  tied  us  by 
twos,  back  to  back,  and  bound  each  couple  to  a  tree. 
We  must  have  looked  rather  ridiculous.  The  robbers 
then  left  us,  promising  to  send  some  one  to  release 


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MR  H •  77 

US  in  two  hours,  and  threatening  us  with  all  sorts  of 
deaths  if  we  dared  to  attempt  to  get  loose  sooner.  In 
about  half  an  hour,  however,  our  muleteer,  who  no 
doubt  was  in  the  plot,  and  had  been  loosely  tied, 
easily  got  free,  and  gave  us  liberty.  The  blind  man 
we  found  in  the  next  field,  the  thieves  having  eon- 
tented  themselves  with  turning  him  round  three  or 
four  times  so  as  to  make  him  lose  all  idea  of  the 
points  of  the  compass,  and  there  he  was,  shouting  with 
all  his  might.  Mules  and  donkey  also  were  left 
quietly  grazing,  our  polite  knights  of  the  road  having 
merely  cut  the  girths  of  the  saddles.  We  got  to 
Lamego  about  four  in  the  afternoon/' 

But  let  us  get  out  of  this  dark  pillared  wildemess 
of  wood  first,  "  questa  selva  selvaggia  ed  aspra  e 
forte/'    We  had  silently  plodded  among  its  sands 

for  half  an  hour,  when  J ,  in  a  tone  that  was  not 

like  her  own  merry  voice,  said,  ^'  Gloomy  enough !'' 
and  those  two  words  were  all  that  were  uttered  while 
we  followed  our  guide  through  its  pathless  and  seem- 
ingly endless  intricacies.  Bats  were  flitting  over  our 
heads,  and  the  sea-murmurs  were  heard ;  but  though 
there  was  no  moon,  cheerful  stars  were  glistening, 
that  appeared  the  brighter  as  we  looked  up  at  them 


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78  GAMINHA. 

througli  those  solemn  black  pines.  In  hali  an  hour 
more  we  got  clear  of  the  wood,  and  we  reached 
Caminha  soon  after  nine  o'clock.  We  fonnd  the  inn 
a  very  poor  one,  and  luckily,  we  had  a  letter  of  intro- 
duction from  Senhor  M ,  of  Ponte  de  Lima,  which 

we  did  not  scruple  to  send  to  its  address,  as  soon  as 
we  had  glanced  at  the  wretched  accommodations. 

Senhor  C was  at  the  Governor's,  with  his  family, 

but  immediately  came  away  on  receiving  the  letter, 
and  escorted  us  at  once  to  his  own  house,  whither  he 
was  quickly  followed,  not  only  by  his  wife  and  chil- 
dren, but  by  the  Governor,  and  three  ladies  and  two 
gentlemen  besides.  It  was  quite  a  little  party, 
assembled  in  ten  minutes.  We  had  tea,  and  were 
then  entertained  with  music, — guitar  and  piano. 
One  of  the  nieces  of  the  Grovemor  sang  modinhas 
very  pleasingly.  Dancing  was  proposed,  but  I  pleaded 
our  fatigue  as  an  excuse ;  and  before  midnight  we 
were  kindly  suffered  to  retire  to  rest.  Our  mat- 
tresses were  hard,  but  everything  was  clean  and 
comfortable ;  and  had  they  been  stuffed  with  down, 
we  could  not  have  been  more  grateful  for  them. 


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CAMINHA.  79 

Mat  SOtb. 
Caminha  stands  at  the  mouth  of  the  Minho^  and 
is  therefore  the  most  northern  of  the  Portuguese 
towns  situated  near  the  sea.  Few  objects  of  interest 
detain  the  traveller  here;  and  fi9w  words  will  serve 
for  them — crumbling  batteries,  a  pretty  fountain, 
narrow  streets,  neatly  paved  and  flagged  on  each 
aide;  and,  in  the  centre  of  the  little  town,  the 
handsome  Igreja  Matriz,  ^^Mother-church,*'  one  of 
the  finest  coUegiate  churches  of  the  province,  and 
built,  or  rather  commenced,  by  command  of  King 
Emanuel,  when  he  passed  through  Caminha  on  a 
pilgrim^s  progress  to  the  shrine  of  Compostella. 
The  first  stone  was  laid  in  1488 ;  but  the  building 
was  not  finally  completed,  with  the  outward  adjuncts 
of  towers,  &c.,  till  almost  sixty  years  later,  towards 
the  close  of  the  reign  of  John  III.,  EmanuePs  son 
and  successor. 

Mat  3Ist. 

We  have  sent  our  horses  and  servants  to  Valen^a, 
and  engaged  a  large  boat,  with  two  boatmen,  to  take 
us  up  the  river.  So  here  we  are,  at  10  p.m.,  within 
arrow-shot  of  Spain  and  Portugal,  and  yet  in  neither ; 
we  are  in  the  centre  of  the  Minho,  rowing  up  to 


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80  THE  RIVER  MINHO. 

Valen^a  with  the  tide.  The  Minho  is  a  fine  broad 
stream  to  the  sea  all  the  way  &om  Yalenfa^  and  £ar 
higher  up.  It  is  at  present^  that  is^  to  us^  who  have 
now  oiir  eyes  on  it,  of  a  dull,  Kght  sea-green  colour. 
There  are  several  villages  on  or  near  its  banks  on 
both  sides.  The  landscape  is  chiefly  composed  of 
slopes  and  taller  hills,  darkly  green  with  pines,  or 
gray  with  rocks,  or  brownish-red  with  short-heath. 
Near  the  river,  here  and  there,  are  livelier  patches 
of  cultivated  grounds,  and  pasture  fields.  We  met 
a  few  boats  from  Valenga,  bringing  down  hams  and 
Indian  com.  They  were  sailing  against  the  tide, 
but  the  wind  was  in  their  favour.  We  passed  other 
boats  that  were  poling  up :  these  were  laden  with 
salt  for  Valenya.  At  Villa  Nova  de  Cerveira  we 
landed,  and  as  our  condessa,  or  provender-basket, 
had  been,  by  a  blunder,  sufiered  to  take  its  usual 
place  on  mule-back  with  the  rest  of  our  luggage  this 
morning,  we  bought  bread  for  ourselves  and  the 
rowers,  and  also  a  Canada  of  wine  (two  quarts),  which 
cost  about  fourpence.  Villa  Nova  de  Cerveira  is  a 
veiy  little  place,  but  has  its  ramparts,  bastions,  and 
battlements.  There  is  a  smaU  elegant  chapel  on  the 
ramparts.     In  the  diminutive  town  is  a  handsome 


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BANKS  OF  THE  MINHO.  81 

church.  On  the  Spanish  side  of  the  river  is,  of 
conrse,  a  rival  battery ;  a  little  higher  np  is  a  round 
mill-like  watch-tower,  called  the  Tower  of  the  Rat, 
and  opposite  to  it  is,  of  course,  another  Portuguese 
battery.  On  the  bald  hills  of  Galicia,  as  well  as  on 
the  Portuguese  side,  are  numerous  steep  roads  and 
tortuous  paths  distinctly  visible.  Both  sides  are 
hungry-looking,  and  scarcely  interesting,  except  as 
boundaries  between  two  nations  that  detest  each 
other  with  the  vigorous  evergreen  hatred  of  near 
relations  at  feud. 

About  two  miles  below  Valen^a,  the  boatmen — 
good-natured  fellows,  but  rogues,  who  preferred  their 
own  convenience  to  ours — ^were  about  to  land  us, 
saying, "  This  is  our  port/^   A  pretty  trudge  we  shoidd 

have  had  to  the  town  !     Mr. declined  landing 

there,  and  they  pulled  on.  The  morning  had  been 
exceedingly  sultry;  the  wind  had  died  away,  and  the 
sky  became  overcast;  thunder  began  to  mutter, 
and  large  drops  of  rain  gave  notice  of  a  storm.  Pre- 
sently, "it  did  not  rain,  but  it  poured;  ^^  floods  of  large 
rain,  intermixed  with  hail,  came  hurthng  viciously 
down,  and  drenched  us  in  a  few  minutes.  The  effect 
on  the  water  was  as  if  it  had  been  suddenly  covered 
E  3 


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82  A  STORM. 

roughly  with  Kve  snow,  so  long  as  this  ''  sharp  rain 
of  arrowy  sleef  lasted.  The  blackened  sky,  and 
pinewoods  and  mountains,  looked  like  a  drawing 
in  Indian  ink.     The  terror  and  helplessness  of  the 

boatmen  were  so  ludicrous,  that  even  J ,  who  is 

not  very  courageous,  could  not  refrain  from  laughing 
at  them,  though  the  thunder  now  echoing  among 
the  hills  was  awfril.  At  every  flash  of  lightning 
our  watermen  cowered  down  like  men  marked  for 
doom,  and  at  every  ratthng  peal  they  loudly  invoked 
St.  Jerome,  and  rushed  from  one  end  of  the  boat  to 
the  other ;  luckily  it  was  a  large  boat,  or  they  must 
have  upset  it.  In  an  interval,  when  there  was  a 
little  breeze,  and  a  lull  of  the  storm,  they  put  up 
a  sail  to  expedite  their  escape.  At  the  first  clap  of 
thunder  that  followed,  they  lowered  the  sail  in  all 
precipitation,  and  left  it,  all  wet  as  it  was,  flapping 

on    J 's   head  and   mine,   tiQ    our    gentlemen 

removed  it.  The  boatmen  then  rowed  away  to  the 
nearest  bank,  and  took  shelter  under  some  trees; 

but  when  Mr. told  them  that  that  was  much 

more  dangerous  than  keeping  out,  away  they  hur- 
ried, and  we  were  again  in  the  full  stream.  They 
then  rowed  as  if  for  their  lives,  and  soon  put  us 


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VALENCA.  83 

ashore  at  the  foot  of  Valeiwfa,  the  first  view  of  which 
was  very  bold  and  grand — a  pyramid  of  buildings  on 
a  hill.  Tuy  is  similarly  situated  nearly  opposite. 
After  an  ngly,  though  sharp  walk  up  the  hill,  slip- 
pery with  rain^  we  passed  under  the  gloomy  archways 
of  the  fort  to  the  small  town,  where  we  put  up  at 
the  inn  "  O  Galego/^  It  was  a  goodish  provincial 
Portuguese  inn;  would  be  a  wretched  pothouse  in 
a  more  civiUzed  region.  After  receiving  the  visits 
of  two  or  three  gentlemen,  to  whom  we  had  for- 
warded letters,  and  walking  round  the  ramparts 
and  through  the  poor  town,  we  dined,  and  retired 
early  to  rest. 

In  the  morning,  aU  the  party  except  myself  strolled 
again  over  the  ramparts  and  town.  I  went  into  the 
nearest  church,  invited  by  the  open  door,  and  I 
suppose  the  morning  service  was  already  over,  for 
I  perceived  no  living  creature  within.  But  there  a 
little  girl,  about  ten  years  old,  lay  dead  on  her  open 
bier,  crowned  with  flowers,  and  dressed  in  sUk, 
trimmed  with  tinsel  and  ribbons.  She  was  covered 
from  head  to  foot  with  a  white  transparent  veil,  a 
bride  for  the  worm. 

Valen9a  is  said  to  be  the  third  strong  place  of 


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84  VIRIATUSw 

Portugal ;  Elvas  and  Almeida  being  the  other  two. 
It  is  in  bad  order^  but  might,  no  doubt,  stand  a  good 
siege  if  well  repaired  and  manned  by  a  more  resolute 
garrison  and  governor  than  those  that  surrendered  it 
to  Napier,  when,  as  a  Portuguese  gentleman  told  me, 
they  had  men  enough  to  beat  him  back  ^^  with  no- 
thing but  stones,'^  and  mijght  have  laughed  him  to 
scorn  with  their  formidable  twelve-pounders,  brass 
guns,  mortars,  &c.,  if  all  this  warlike  gear  had  been 
in  serviceable  condition  and  well  served.  On  this  very 
site,  nearly  two  thousand  years  ago,  a  Portuguese 
warrior  shepherd,  (a  bandit,  the  Roman  historians  caQ 
him,)  after  having  in  many  fields  foiled  the  Legions, 
and  conquered  peace,  erected  a  strong  place  of  refuge, 
as  if  suspicious  of  the  treachery  to  which  he  at  last 
fell  a  victim.  No  shred  of  the  shepherd^s  mantle,  if 
he  wore  one,  descended  to  Don  MigueFs  Governor  of 
Valen9a  when  he  surrendered  to  Napier's  handful 
of  seamen  arid  marines.  The  cowardice,  however, 
of  the  garrison  and  the  chief  was  probably  rather 
political  than  physical.  They  knew  their  cause  was 
gone. 

Don  L of  Tuy,  to  whom  we  last  night  sent 

our  letter  of  introduction,  called  at  11  a.m.,  and 


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Tuy.  85 

accompanied  us  in  the  ferry-boat  to  Tuy.  The 
heat  was  excessive.  Foux  Portuguese  Volunteers, 
whose  regiment  was  on  duty  at  Valen5a,  crossed  the 
ferry  with  us,  and  the  moment  they  landed  on 
Spanish  ground^  began  to  abuse  the  Spaniards  as 
the  lowest  of  the  human  race,  and  they  continued 
their  vituperation  as  long  as  we  let  them  walk  behind 

us.     This  must  have  been  pleasant  to  Don  L , 

our  companion,  on  his  own  ground.  He  took  no 
notice  whatever  of  their  insulting  language.  We 
stopped  that  they  might  pass,  and  one  of  the  men, 
who  saw  how  disgusted  we  were,  said,  civilly  enough 

to  Mr. ,  "  Oh,  you  don^t  know  these  Gallegos ; 

ask  them  how  they  treated  us  formerly,  when  we  were 
outnumbered  by  the  Miguel  traitors,  and  forced  to 
retreat  into  GaKcia.^^ — "  But  true  soldiers,"  replied 

Mr.  L ,  "  keep  their  tongues,  as  well  as  swords, 

in  the  scabbard,  in  time  of  peace."  The  man  smiled, 
and  all  four  raised  their  hands  to  their  caps,  and 
walked  off. 

Don  L conducted  us  to  his  house,  a  good  and 

pleasant  one,  where  an  elderly  good-humoured  lady, 
and  two  handsome  young  ladies  (one  a  visitor  from 
Vigo,  and  the  other  a  sister  of  Don  L )  received 


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86  TUY. 

us.    J was  almost  immediately  asked  to  play  on 

the  piano^  which  she  did.  Several  airs  were  then 
played  with  much  taste  and  remarkable  dignity  of 
carriage  by  one  of  the  young  Spaniards;  for^  let  the 
CastiUans  sneer  as  they  wiU,  there  is  as  true  Spanish 
blood  (and  blue  bloody  too)  in  Oalicia  as  in  either  of 
the  Castiles.  Sweetmeats  and  wine  were  offered  us, 
and  then  we  were  guided  up  the  hill  to  various  points 
of  view,  some  of  them  very  fine,  the  Spanish  and 
Portuguese  mountains  uniting  in  a  natural  and  noble 
harmony,  which  the  two  nations  seem  determined 
never  to  imitate.  At  the  very  top  of  the  town,  the 
cathedral,  with  its  rich  gateway  and  cloisters,  and  its 
dark  elaborately  sculptured  stalls,  is  worthy  of  much 
longer  examination  than  we  had  time  to  give  to  so 
venerable  an  edifice.  There  is  a  magnificent  pro- 
spect of  mountains,  fertile  vales,  and  river,  from  the 
robing-room  of  the  bishop.  The  Tuy  prison  for  men 
is,  of  course,  strongly  barred  with  iron;  but  that  for 
women,  right  opposite,  had  the  casements  secured 
with  wooden  bars  only. 

On  our  return  to  Valen<;a,  the  Brigadier-General 
commanding  there,  to  whose  attention  we  had  been 
recommended  by  letter,  sent  an  Aide-de-camp  to 


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FROM  VALENCA  TO  MONCAO.  87 

explain  that  he  had  been  absient  on  our  arrival^  and 
had  only  just  come  back^  and  that  he  wonld  come  to 
tts  presently.  But  we  sent  him  word  that  we  were 
about  to  depart.  I  only  mention  the  circumstance, 
otherwise  of  no  interest  whatever^  as  another  instance 
of  the  invariable  respect  paid  by  Portuguese  gentle- 
men to  letters  of  introduction. 

At  5  P.M.  we  started  for  Mon9ao.  The  ride  all 
the  way  beautiful ;  the  road,  comparatively  speaking, 
not  bad.  The  borders  of  the  river  are  richly  wooded, 
and  cidtivated.  The  hills  are  also  finely  wooded; 
and,  when  I  use  this  phrase,  I  do  not  mean  with  the 
pine  only,  but  with  trees  of  more  cheerful  character, 
oaks,  chesnuts,  walnuts,  &c.  &c.  Sometimes  we 
rode  under  ramadas  of  vines,  which  are  of  the  most 
delicate  verdure  at  this  season.  The  vine  is  trained 
on  upright  poles,  or  on  stone-shafts,  at  each  side  of 
the  road,  and  on  cross  poles  at  top,  and  thus  forms 
these  charming  highway  arbours.  Exquisite  views 
of  the  river  by  the  setting  sunlight.  Tuy  looked 
out  boldly  and  clearly  in  the  full  light  as  we  left 
Valen9a,  while  the  hills  at  the  back  of  Tuy  were 
abeady  shrouded  in  the  deepest  and  richest  blue. 
At  San  Mamede,  a  village  about  equidistant  from 


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88        FROM  VALENCA  TO  MONCAO. 

Valenfa  and  Mon9ao^  is  a  bridge  across  a  deep  little 
woody  glen  over  the  Rio  da  Gadanha^  a  stream  that 
joins  the  Minho  just  below.  Near  this  bridge,  which 
is  called  Fonte  do  Manco  (the  Cripple^s  Bridge),  is  a 
saw-mill;  and  a  little  further  on  is  a  qidnta,  with  a 
most  imposing  breadth  of  gateway  of  carved  stone  ; 
but  the  honse  to  which  it  invites  attention  has  no  claim 
to  notice.  This  incongruity  reminded  me  of  the 
story  of  an  English,  squire,  who,  having  constructed  as 
pompous  a  gateway  to  a  paltry  paddock  and  insigni- 
ficant mansion,  caused  his  chosen  motto  to  be  in- 
scribed on  the  gate  thus  :  61  VANITAS ;  on  which 
a  sarcastic  visitor  observed,  that  the  squire^s  omnia 
seemed  very  small,  and  his  vanitas  veiy  great.  But 
some  of  such  gateways  in  Portugal  are  of  hoar  anti- 
quity, and  though  they  may  now  be  ^^  passages  that 
lead  to  nothing,^^  like  Gray's  in  the  ^'  Long  Story,'^ 
the  arms  thereon  sculptured  have  often  a  proud  and 
melancholy  interest.  They  tell  of  men  and  things 
that  were,  when  Portugal  was  a  nation,  and  when 
Fidalgos  were  statesmen  and  heroes. 

Half  a  mile  onward  we  passed  the  bluflF  square 
tower,  caQed  the  Castle  of  Lapella,  said  to  be  one  of 
the  many  forts  built  in  the  reign  of  King  Diniz,  the 


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MONCAO.  89 

poet-king^  whose  songs  of  the  13th  century  have  but 
just  been  printed  for  the  first  time  firom  a  manuscript 
in  the  Vatican.  On  the  Galician  side  of  the  Minho, 
a  little  beyond  O  Castello  de  Lapella,  is  the  sullen* 
looking  fortress  of  Salvatierra. 

By  eight  o'clock  we  reached  Mon9ao^  whither  Mr. 

L had  preceded  us,  and  where,  finding  the  inn 

uninviting,  he  accepted  for  us  the  proflFered  hospi- 
tality of  a  gentleman  to  whom  we  had  a  letter,  and 
who  made  our  party,  servants  and  quadrupeds  ex- 
cepted, as  comfortable  as  he  cotdd  on  so  short  a  notice. 
We  ladies,  having  got  tea,  were  glad  to  go  to  rest 
before  ten. 

Mon^ao,  according  to  some  antiquaries,  who  have 
access,  I  suspect,  to  archives  in  the  moon,  (for,  "  Ci6 
che  si  perde  qui,  1^  si  raguna,''  says  Ariosto,)  is  so 
ancient  that  its  first  name  was  Obobriga,  from  King 
Brigus,  its  original  founder,  one  thousand  nine 
hundred  years  before  the  birth  of  our  Saviour.  So 
we  may  peculiarly  apply  to  this  place  the  observa- 
tion more  largely  applied  by  Camoens : — 

— de  hum  Brigo, 
Sefoif  ja  teve  o  nome  derivado — 

"  It  derives  its  name  firom  one  Brigus,  if  such  a  one 


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90  MONCAO. 

ever  lived/'  Its  second  founders  were  the  Greeks, 
who  named  it  Orozion,  whence,  as  it  is  pretended, 
it  was  afterwards  called  Mons  Sanctus,  and  abbre- 
viated to  Monfao.  After  it  had  been  again  disman- 
tled and  deserted,  it  was  refonnded  by  Alfonso  III., 
not  exactly  on  the  same  site  as  before,  but  where  it 
now  stands,  close  to  the  Minho.  His  son  King 
Diniz  walled  it  round,  and  built  the  castle.  The 
arms  of  the  town  are,  on  a  field  argent,  a  woman  on 
the  walls,  holding  two  loaves,  and  the  motto  is  Deu 
la  deu,  ''  God  gave  her,''  in  memory  of  the  courage 
and  discretion  of  a  noble  lady,  Deu-la-deu  (or  Theo- 
dosia)  Martinez,  who,  after  the  Castilians  had  for 
some  time  invested  the  town,  and  cut  off  all  supplies, 
baked  some  bread,  and  threw  the  loaves  from  the 
wall,  calling  out  to  the  Spaniards,  "There,  if  you 
want  food,  speak,  for  we  have  plenty,  and  will  spare 
you  some."  The  besiegers,  when  they  saw  fresh 
bread,  gave  up  the  siege.  They  had  hoped  to  starve 
the  garrison  out,  and  had  nearly  done  so;  but 
woman's  wile  saved  the  place ; 

For  those  leaguers  "  little  knew 
What  that  wily  sex  could  do." 


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MONCAO.  91 

June  Ist. 

We  were  up  at  half-past  four,  but  could  not  get 
our  servants  to  be  ready  till  seven.  At  breakfast, 
our  host,  who  had  travelled  much  both  in  North 
and  South  America,  (and  who  was  sixteen  years  in 
Brazil,  chiefly  in  Pemambuco,  which,  he  says,  con- 
tains the  finest  scenery  he  ever  saw,)  dispraised  the 
Spaniards  in  no  qualified  terms.  Thus  it  is  wher- 
ever we  go ;  and  the  Spaniards  are  not  one  whit  less 
uncharitable  to  the  Portuguese.  Pitiable  is  the  dis- 
cord between  two  people  who  worship  the  same  God, 
follow  the  same  superstitions,  have  nearly  the  same 
language  and  manners  and  customs,  and  a  soil 
which  Nature  seems  to  have  intended  for  one  vast 
brotherhood. 

On  another  subject,  the  vagaries  of  our  acquaint- 
ance and  countryman.  Major  P ,  of  which  we 

had  heard  something  at  Valen9a,  our  obliging  host 
was  more  entertaining  than  on  that  of  his  antipathy 
to  his  neighbours.  The  Major,  being  engaged  in 
the  wine-trade,  was  here  for  some  days,  looking  at 
the  vintage -produce  in  every  direction;  for  the 
English  formerly  used  to  procure  wines  from  this 
vicinity.     They  were  then,  it  is  said,  better  than 


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92  HOW  TO  GET  ROBBED. 

now;  the  vines  at  present  cultivated  yield  more 
grapes,  but  of  inferior  quality.  The  Major,  after 
his  field-inspection  of  the  vines,  started  oflF  for 
Valen9a  one  afternoon,  on  foot,  with  no  servant; 
but  he  was  accompanied  by  two  or  three  men,  hired 
as  guards,  and  a  mule  that  carried  his  luggage.    . 

When  he  had  proceeded  some  way,  the  thought 
struck  him  that  he  might  ''kill  two  birds  with  one 
stone  ;^^  and  as  he  was  at  no  great  distance  firom 
Valen9a,  and  had  time  to  spare,  he  might  just  as 
well  cross  the  river,  and  look  about  him  on  Galician 
ground.  A  boat,  with  its  owner,  was  unluckily 
near,  and  perhaps  the  sight  of  it  was  ''father  to  the 
thought.^'  He  hailed  it,  made  an  agreement  with 
the  man  to  take  him  across  and  back  again,  and  left 
his  sumpter-mule  in  charge  of  his  trusty  guards. 
By  the  time  he  got  across,  it  was  dusk;  so,  after 
jumping  ashore,  and  seeing  nothing,  he  jumped 
back  into  the  boat,  and  was  soon  once  more  on  Por- 
tuguese ground.  But  where  were  his  attendants, 
and  where  was  his  mule  ?  Gone !  He  hoped  they 
had,  at  the  worst,  but  mistaken  his  directions  and 
gone  on  before  him,  leaving  him  to  follow  in  the 
boat.    No  such  thing.     They  had  divided  his  lug- 


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THE  MAJOR.  93. 

gage  among  them^  and  let  the  mule  loose  to  find  its 
own  way  back  to  Mon9ao.  About  eleven  o^clock  at 
night  he  presented  himself  at  the  gate  of  Valen9a. 
He  gave  no  intelligible  account  of  himself,  though 
questioned  in  Portuguese,  Spanish,  French,  and 
Latin.  His  excitement  probably  made  him  forget 
the  little  that  he  knew  of  any  of  these  languages, 
or  at  least  that  he  knew  as  he  heard  them  pronounced 
here.  He  only  contrived  to  betray  the  fact  that  he 
had  crossed  over  into  Spain,  and  on  examination  of 
his  passport  it  was  perceived  that  it  had  not  been 
countersigned  with  any  permission  to  cross.  This 
was  irregular;  and  there  seemed  some  mystery  about 
the  dust-covered  man.  There  unluckily  happened  to 
be  a  guerilla,  at  this  time,  prowling  about  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Mon9ao.  The  garrison  soldiers  would 
have  it  that  this  was  no  English  Major,  but  one  of 
that  band  of  robbers — ^perhaps  its  chief,  for  he  was  "a 
fine-looking  man."  They  proposed  to  kill  him,  whe- 
ther in  jest  or  earnest  it  is  difficult  to  say ;  but  a  mob 
was  by  this  time  collected,  and  the  shout  was  raised 
that  the  leader  of  the  Mon^ao  guerilla  was  taken,  and 
"Kill  him,  kill  him!"  was  the  cry.  The  Governor  op- 
portunely arrived,  and  lodged  him  in  prison,  to  save  his 


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94  THE  BEBJOEIRA. 

life^  for  which  he  sent  the  CroTemor  a  challenge  to  a 
duello  with  pistols  or  swords.  No  notice  was  taken 
of  the  challenge ;  and  the  next  day^  after  a  respect- 
able natiye  of  Yalenfa  had  identified  the  Major  as 
the  rightful  possessor  of  the  passport^  the  good- 
natured  Commandant  sent  him  away  with  a  guards 
who  were  ordered  to  see  him  safe  to  Viana,  where 
there  is  an  English  vice-consul.  But  the  Major^ 
having  no  fancy  for  their  protection^  got  rid  of  them 
at  Caminha,  and  finally  found  his  way  back  to 
Oporto. 

Before  we  mounted^  we  looked  into  a  churchy  and 
walked  through  the  square  of  Mon9ao^  which  is  graced 
by  two  grand  old  oaks  and  a  modem  fountain.  We 
had  a  green  and  agreeable^  though  hot^  ride  to  the 
magnificent  mansion  of  Berjoeira^  the  seat  of  the 

family  of  P de  M .   It  was  begun  about  forty 

years  ago ;  and,  according  to  the  design,  should  be  a 
square  building  of  1 80  feet  breadth  to  each  of  the  four 
fronts ;  but  only  half  of  the  plan  has  been  completed. 
The  house  contains  grand  suites  of  apartments,  with 
ill-painted  ceilings  and  panels,  &c.  In. one  of  the 
saloons  are  family  portraits,  in  all  the  ugliness  of 
stiffly-daubed  caricatures.      The   paintings    in    the 


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CRAZED  GUIDE.  95 

house,  of  every  description,  are  wretched  specimens 
of  art.  The  pleasure-grounds  are  very  handsome 
and  well  kept;  cool  alleys,  vine-roofed  parterres  of 
flowers,  fountains,  terraces  with  shrubs,  gravelled 
walks,  bowers  paved  with  blue  pantiles  of  many  pat- 
terns, are  among  the  ornaments  of  these  gardens. 
The  house,  perhaps,  stands  in  the  centre  of  the  pro- 
prietor's grounds ;  for  it  commands  no  view  of  import- 
ance, and  not  a  single  glimpse  of  running  water. 
The  surrounding  country  is,  however,  rich  and  woody ; 
and  the  remote  mountains  are  a  good  back-ground 
in  every  part  of  this  district.  By  the  way,  or  rather, 
out  of  the  way,  we  took  a  boy  to  guide  us  as  far  as 
the  Berjoeira ;  and  we  had  also  a  volunteer  conduc- 
tor— a  tall,  thin  madman,  of  middle  age,  ghastly  and 
fierce  in  aspect,  but  harmless.  Poor  fellow !  he 
seemed  to  have  an  instinctive  hostiUty  to  doga^ 
which,  no  doubt,  often  worry  him.  He  went  out 
of  his  path  to  give  them  battle  wherever  he  heard 
their  bark,  and  threw  stones  at  them  vahantly  where- 
ever  he  saw  them. 

We  had  a  fine  wild,  sylvan  ride  to  Arcos;  but 
how  hot !  and  what  roads  !  '^if  roads  they  should  be 
called,  that  roads  are  ^one.''     To  the  village  of  Eio 


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96  TO  ARCOS. 

Bom^  the  way  was  not  only  so  intricate  that  we  went 
astray  several  times^  but  it  was  as  rude  and  bad  as 
possible.  The  Portuguese  roads  are  often  mere 
watercourses,  formed  by  the  torrents  in  the  rainy 
season,  and  torrents  are  rough  paviours.  The  ride 
from  Rio  Bom,  too,  over  the  mountain  Estremo,  was 
rather  arduous :  up  hill  and  down  dale,  and  along 
the  mountain  sides,  with  their  half-paved  furrows  and 
pits  of  roads,  but  with  glorious  green  views  all  round 
us,  high  and  low,  of  the  pine-clad  Serras,  d^  Estrica, 
d^  Anta,  and,  more  distant,  those  of  Bolhoza  to  the 
west,  and  da  Panheda  to  the  east,  shutting  in  luxu- 
riant valleys  of  com  and  wine.  Huge  stones  (one  or 
two  giants  reminded  me  of  the  bowderstone  in  Bor- 
rodale ;  and  many  of  our  prospects  to-day  were  of 
Cumbrian  feature)  lay  on  the  Jiills  on  our  way,  and 
there  was  one  hill  that  was  an  entire  cone  of  granite, 
flattened  at  top,  and  supporting  great  square  stones, 
like  a  castle- wall  and  tower.  We  wanted  Professor 
Sedgwick  here.  We  stopped  at  the  foot  of  the 
Estremo,  at  a  village  called  Cho9as,  (pronounced 
Shossas,)  to  refresh  ourselves  and  quadrupeds  at  a 
venda,  and  to  replace  a  shoe  that  one  of  the  horses 
had  lost.    We  dined  on  bread  and  meat  that  we  had 


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OUR  MULEMAN  AGAIN.  97 

brought  with  xis,  and  some  superior  wine  of  Mon^ao 
of  which  we  found  three  or  four  flasks  in  our  condessa, 
into  which  they  must  have  been  smuggled  by  our 
host;  for  we  did  not  know  they  were  there.  We 
chanced^  however,  to  be  so  scantily  supplied  with 
meat  that  there  was  none  for  the  servants,  so  their 
fare  was  sardinhas  and  plenty  of  bread  and  wine. 
The  horses  and  mule  also  had  the  latter,  sopas,  bread 
soaked  in  wine,  for  neither  barley,  nor  Indian  com, 
nor  rye-straw  was  to  be  had  in  this  miserable  place. 
Our  churl  of  an  arriero  broke  out  into  one  of  his  fire-- 
quent  fits  of  rage ;  but  this  time  he  was  so  impudent 
'. — 9is  if  we  were  answerable  for  the  village  of  Cho^as 

not  containing  diet  to  suit  his  palate — ^that  Mr. 

was  compelled  to  rate  him  harshly.  He  had  latterly 
taken  to  riding  our  baggage-mule,  which  he  had 
never  suffered  our  own  man  to  mount,  except  once, 

when  she  was  in  a  vicious  humour.     Mr. now 

insisted  that  he  should  not  mount  again,  and  rode  at 
him  when  he  attempted  it.  The  mutineer  found 
it  would  not  do;  we  were  as  much  frightened  as 
amused  by  the  squabble ;  but  the  mule  settled  the 
matter,  for  she  began  kicking,  and  set  all  our  horses 
prancing.    The  man  now  turned  his  eloquence  on 

VOL.  I.  F 


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98  CULTIVATION  OF  THE  LAND. 

the  mocha,  and  did  not  flatter  her  j  bnt  her  eye^  and 
a  certain  revolution  of  one  ear^  told  him  that  he  was 

safer  on  foot.     Mr. ,  who  knows  the  country, 

and  the  ways  of  its  people,  declares,  that  in  all  his 
experience  he  never  had  to  deal  with  so  discontented, 
ill-tempered,  and  ill-conditioned  a  raQer,  as  this  or- 
rieroy  who,  I  am  sorry  to  add,  is  not  a  native  of  Ga- 
licia,  as  most  of  his  calling  in  this  land  are,  but  a  Por- 
tuguese.    As  a  set-off  against  this  man's  misconduct, 

Mr. says  that  the  very  best,  the  most  obliging, 

and  the  tinniest  arriero  he  ever  employed  was  a  Por- 
tuguese who  accompanied  him  all  the  way  from 
Oporto  to  Coimbra,  the  Bataiha,  Alcoba^a,  &c.  &c.j 
to  Lisbon. 

Every  hill  on  our  route  in  this  fatiguing  ride,  wher- 
ever culture  is  possible,is  as  carefdlly  tilled  as  the  vales; 
the  land  is  partitioned  off  into  small  fields  which  are 
fringed  with  rows  of  dwarf  oaks  vine-dasped;  there 
are  terraces  under  terraces  of  these  tree-bordered 
fields,  and,  instead  of  a  wall  of  stones  to  support  the 
side  of  each  terrace,  there  is  often  a  casing  of  green 
sod  that  looks  as  weU  as  the  trimmest  hedge,  and 
adds  much  to  the  cheerfiil  verdure  of  the  scene. 
Between  Cho9as  and  Arcos  are  the  villages  of  Pogido 


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ARCOS.  99 

and  Gandara  de  Porzello.  It  took  us  seven  hours 
and  a  Lalf^  including  halts^  to  perform  this  day's 
journey^  though  the  distance  from  Monfao  to  Arcos^ 
in  a  direct  line^  is  less  than  twenty  miles. 

Arcos  stands  pleasantly  in  the  Yal  do  Yez^  on  the 
riyer  Yez,  that  runs  shallow  and  brawling  near  it^ 
and  disembogues  into  the  Lima  a  few  miles  to  the 
south. 

From  a  plateau  on  which  stand  two  churches  and 
a  large  house  thrown  back  between  them^  are  fine 
views  of  nver^  valley^  and  surrounding  mountains. 
I  believe  there  is  nothing  of  man's  work  very  remark- 
able at  Arcos^  where,  on  account  of  the  heat,  we 
remained  till  3  p.m. 

June  2nd. 

The  inn-keeper,  a  civil  man,  warned  us  that  it 
would  take  us  at  least  seven  hours,  probably  more, 
to  accomplish  our  journey  to  Braga,  and  he  advised 
us  to  defer  our  departure  for  twelve  hours.  He  re- 
presented the  difficulty  of  travelling  at  night  on  such 
bad  roads,  and  the  danger  of  being  waylaid  by  rob- 
b^s.  But  we  did  not  put  much  faith  in  these  argu- 
ments for  delay.  Besides,  if  we  wished  to  start  at 
three  in  the  morning,  there  would  be  no  possibility, 
p2 


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100  BANKS  OF  THE  VEZ. 

we  believed,  of  getting  our  intractable  arrierh  to  be 
ready  before  six  or  seven.  So  off  we  set.  There  is 
a  beautiful  prospect  of  river,  church  and  town,  and 
fields  and  mountains,  from  the  bridge  of  Arcos,  a 
very  beautifrd  view  indeed ;  and  the  ride  all  the  way 
to  Barca  de  Bico,  the  ferry  across  the  Cavado,  within 
a  league  and  a  half  of  Braga,  which  was  as  far  as  the 
daylight  served  us,  is  magnificently  rich.  The  first  part 
was  delightful  along  the  margin  of  the  Vez,  with 
abundant  verdure  on  every  side,  and  lofty  steeps 
wooded  to  the  very  smnmit,  and  the  green  much 
enlivened  by  the  yellow-flowering  broom,  which 
grows  to  imcommon  height,  and  blossoms  in  great 
luxuriance  among  the  woods  here  at  this  season. 
This  country  must,  I  suppose,  be  exceedingly  lovely 
in  autumn,  when  the  leaves  are  turned  and  the 
grapes  are  ripe,  as  there  are  many  evergreen  trees 
also.  We  did  not  find  the  road  so  bad  either  as  our 
landlord  had  reported,  except  in  two  or  three  places, 
and  those  not  so  very  bad  as  many  that  we  had 
passed.  For  the  first  two  leagues  the  road  was  easy 
enough,  and  we  could  hardly  have  thought  it  other- 
wise, or  thought  about  it  at  all,  through  such  a  suc- 
cession of  charming  landscapes.     The  Vez,  which 


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PONTE  DA  BARCA.  101 

had  been  our  lively  travelling  companion  into  Arcos, 
did  not  desert  us  till  it  reached  Ponte  da  Barca^ 
where  it  glides  into  the  Lima.  There  is  at  this  place 
a  pretty  quinta,  called  Pa90  Vedro  (Old  Palace).  We 
fancied  it  might  have  been,  centuries  gone  by,  the 
site  of  Maria  Lopes  da  Costa's  residence.  This 
woman,  who  died  at  the  age  of  110,  and  whose  tra- 
ditional fame  is  aUve  yet  in  Ponte;  da  Barca,  was 
twice  married.  Her-  children  and  grand-children 
were  no  less  than  120  in  number,  of  whom  80  were 
living  around  her  at  the  time  of  her  decease.  King 
Emanuel,  on  his  return  from  Compostella,  nearly  340 
years  since,  slept  in  her  house,  and  was  liberal  in  do- 
nations to  her  progeny.  The  Da  Costas,  for  the 
matronymic  is  not  extinct,  are  still  as  proud  of  the 
Great  King's  kindness  as  of  their  many  times  great- 
grandmother's  longevity. 

Our  route  now  lay  by  Queimada,  Portella,  and 
Pico  de  Regalados.  The  stiflF  dusty  steep  near  the 
latter  place  commands  from  its  summit  a  wide  pros- 
pect of  the  plain  and  city  of  Braga.  Nosso  Senhor 
do  Monte,  and  the  monastery  of  Sansfins,  are  two 
of  the  striking  objects  that  present  themselves  in 
this  extensive  panorama. 


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102  STILL  HARPING  ON  OUR  MULE. 

Our  evil  genius  on  this  pleasant  ramble^  the 
arrierOy  figures  in  to-day's  adventures.  He  is  always 
drinking^  and  always  in  a  rage.  It  is  quite  ludicrous 
to  observe  how  Grenho  (curly-head),  our  great  stout 
GWician,  is  afraid  of  him.  He  is  most  respectftd  to 
him,  and  as  watchfol  of  his  movements  as  he  might 
be  if  he  were  an  unchained  tiger.  As  he  was  not 
permitted  to  ride,  he  now  repeated  a  trick  which  he 
has  played  us  several  times;  he  so  arranged,  or 
rather  disarranged,  our  baggage,  that  the  mule 
became  uneasy  and  nearly  kicked  it  off.  This  gave 
him  an  excuse  for  stopping,  and  he  lingered  till  we 

were  out  of  sight;    but  Mr.  suspecting  his 

intention  from  the  insolent  humour  he  saw  him  in, 
suddenly  rode  back,  and  seeing  him  just  about  to 
take  his  seat  on  our  carpet-bags,  forbade  him  to 
mount.     The  man  yielded,  but  not  without  loud  and 

vehement  complaints.     Mr. now  told  him  that 

as  he  was  such  a  selfish  and  obstreperous  churl,  and 
as  he  had  from  the  commencement  of  our  acquaint- 
ance behaved  as  ill  as  possible,  he  should  thenceforth 
always  go  on  foot,  adding  that  he  would  "break  his 
head^^  if  he  saw  him  make  another  attempt  to  mount 
that  mule  while  she  was  in  our  service.     Mr. 


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PICX)  DE  REGALADOS.  103 

then  fell  back  and  rode  behind  the  arriero,  who 
sulkily  led  the  Unule^  while  we  ladies  rode  on  with 

Mr.  H .    AU  this  was  very  absurd;  but  no 

words  can  explain  the  plague  this  muleman  gave  us^ 
and  Grenho's  terror  of  him  always  increased  our 
difficulty^  though  it  made  us  laugh.    The  man  did 

not  like  Mr. 's  riding  behind  him.     He  suddenly 

roared  out  that  the  mule  pulled  his  arm  off^  and  le) 

go  the  bridle.    Mr. desired  Grenho  to  lead  her, 

or  to  ride  her  if  he  chose.  But  he  was  muito  obri- 
gado  a  mta  senhoria, — ^much  obligedi  and  casting  a 
queer  Ipok  of  awe  at  the  muleteer,  declared  that  he 
very  much  preferred  riding  to  walking,  though  he 
had  been  coAtinually  complaining  to  us  that  the  man 
would  not  let  him  ride.  The  mutineer  dropped 
astern,  and  we  were  in  hopes  we  should  see  no  more 
of  him  tiU  we  got  to  Braga.  A  chance  wayfarer 
whom  we  met,  and  who  heard  part  of  the  altercation, 
took  us  into  favour  and  joined  us,  going  back,  out 
6f  his  way,  to  show  us  ours  over  the  Pico  de  Rega- 
lados,  and  carefully  leading  J ^'s  horse  when- 
ever we  came  to  '^  a  bad  place."  He  advised  us  to 
remain  at  Pico  for  the  night,  proposing  to  accom- 
pany us  to  Braga  early  in  the  morning.     He  was 


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104  THE  WRANGLER. 

very  ciyil^  and  probably  equaUy  honesty  but  he  had  a 
cunning  look  that  was  not  prepossessing.  Pico^  too^ 
did  not  appear  to  be  an  eligible  quarter  for  a  night's 
billet ;  so  we  gave  the  stranger  half  a  pinto  (which 
does  not  mean  half  t^pint,  but  half  a  new  crown^ — 
that  is^  we  gave  him  a  coin  of  value  little  more  than 
a  shillings)  and  pushed  on.  Grenho^  after  many  a 
lingering^  but  not  longing  look  behind^  to  ascertain 
if  the  arriero  were  fairly  out  of  sights  got  upon  the 
mule^  to  his  great  content  and  ours ;  but^  lo  I  just 
as  we  had  congratulated  ourselves  on  havings  as  we 
imagined,  surely  left  our  marplot  far  behind,  the 
very  man  appeared  at  a  moment  when  Grenho  had 
halted  to  recover  a  fish-pannier  that  had  dropped. 
The  man  must  have  skulked  after  us^  keeping  us  in 
view  the  whole  way.     Grenho  was  about  to  jump  off, 

but  Mr.  L ,  picking  up  the  pannier  for  him,  told 

him  to  remain  where  he  was.  We  went  on,  and  the 
man  followed  at  some  distance.    Presently  he  rushed 

up,  and,   adopting  Mr.  ^'s  expression,   assured 

the  Galician  that  he  would  '^ break  his  head''  if  he 
did  not  dismount.  Grenho  was  meekly  going  to 
comply,  but  was  prevented  by  Mr. ,  who  pro- 
mised the  muleteer  that  if  he  gave  us  any  more  of  his 


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BARCO  DE  VICO.  105 

impudence^  there  should  be  but  one  broken  head  of 
the  party,  and  that  should  be  his  own.  The  bully 
muttered  and  growled,  but  made  no  further  attempt 
to  interfere  till  we  got  to  Barco  de  Vico,  the  ferry 
across  the  Cavado,  at  half-past  eight.  Here  we  were 
detained  till  ten  for  the  boat,  which  was  waiting  on 
the  other  side  for  some  cars  and  their  oxen.  The 
muleman  now  swaggered,  and  seemed  to  enjoy 
Grenho^s  distress,  when  the  baggage,  being  ill- 
mounted,  again  became  disbalanced.  He  refused  to 
help  him,  though  Grenho  humbly  entreated  his  assist- 
ance, confessing  his  own  want  of  genius  to  settle  such 
important  affairs.  At  last  the  fellow  did  lend  him  a 
hand. 

The  boat  did  at  last  arrive  too,  and  was  of  such 
commodious  breadth  and  form  that  we  all  rode  on 
to  it  without  dismounting.  The  distance  from  the 
ferry  to  Braga  may  be  five  miles ;  we  made  it  at  least 
twelve,  wandering  about  the  country  through  woods 
and  villages,  raising  the  barkings  of  all  the  dogs  in 
the  district,  and  disturbing  the  slumbers  of  the  in- 
habitants at  several  houses  by  thumping  at  their 
doors,  till  some  one  or  other  now  and  then  sum- 
moned courage  to  answer;  for  no  doubt  they  took 
f3 


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106  BRAG  A. 

US  for  a  band  of  mounted  brigands.  But  the  infor- 
mation tbus  obtained  was  so  confused^  that  we  could 

make  nothing  of  it  for  a  long  time.     Mr. had 

at  first  taken  the  lead^  and  in  the  right  direction^  as 
it  happened;  but  the  arriero  called  out  that  he 
knew  the  way  perfectly  well;  that  we  were  on  the 
wrong  tracks  and  must  take  what  he  termed  the 
lower  road.  Of  course  we  complied^  and  so  got  into 
a  labyrinth ;  and  then  no  one  was  so  anxious  and  so 
timid  as  our  besotted  guide^  till,  by  finding  our  way 
back  to  the  spot  firom  which  he  had  called  us,  we 
were  at  length  fairly  out  of  the  scrape.  During  all 
this  time  the  woods  and  lanes  were  very  dark;  for 
though  there  was  starlight,  there  was  no  moon.  We 
were  cheered  and  delighted,  however,  by  the  nightin- 
gales; some  of  which,  though  very  near  us,  did  not 
cease  singing  for  the  tramp  of  our  horses'  hoofs. 
We  entered  Braga  an  hour  after  midnight,  rattled  up 
the  people  of  the  inn,  got  supper,  and  were  in  bed 
by  half-past  two. 

Braga,  June. 3rd.  . 

The  Cathedral  was  the  first  object  we  visited.    We 

attended  service ;  and  if  to  some  of  us  the  mass  was 

i|,s  a  dead  letter,  none  of  our  party  could  be  in- 


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CATHEDRAL.  107 

sensible  to  the  solemn  eloquence  of  the  organ.   After 

service^  (at  which  our  Oporto  firiend,  Senhor  P 

one  of  the  canons  here^  assisted^)  the  sacristan  showed 
us  all  the  rare  treasures :  firsts  in  the  sacristy^  seve- 
ral antique  pieces  of  church  plate^  and  the  robes^ 
ancient  and  modern^  of  the  archbishops.  Among 
the  silver  things  was  an  elaborately-worked  image  of 
the  Virgin  and  Child,  a  great  curiosity  because  it 
was  carried  at  the  battle  of  Aljubarota  by  Don 
Lourenzo^  primate  and  rebuilder  of  the  cathedral,  to 
inspirit  the  Portuguese  soldiers.  The  mummy, 
which  was  afterwards  exhibited  to  us  in  the  chapel  of 
N0S80  Senhor  do  Livramento,  (Our  Lord  of  the  Deli- 
verance), is  the  corpse  of  this  gallant  churchman- 
martial,  who  was  wounded  in  that  successful  struggle 
for  the  independence  of  Portugal.  We  were  assured 
that  it  was  no  mummy,  that  it  had  not  been  em- 
balmed, but  had  been  left  to  dry  naturally,  and  had 
not  corrupted — a  marvel  attributed  to  the  odour  of 
his  sanctity.  At  the  Batalha^  one  of  our  fellow-tra- 
vellers has  seen  a  corse  m  equal  preservation,  shown 
as  that  of  one  of  the  sons  of  the  victor  at  Alju- 
barota John  I.  That  also  is  said  not  to  hav6 
been  embalmed,  and  its  preservation  is  the  more 


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108  CATHEDRAL, 

remarkable  in  that  damp  and  neglected  edifice.) 
We  saw  the  chalice  nsed  by  the  first  Archbishop  of 
Braga^  Saint  G^rald^  1113.  We  also  saw  this  digni-> 
tary's  pontifical  dress^  and  a  curiously  rich  and  heavy 
vestment  worn  by  some  of  the  primates  after  the 
discovery  of  the  south-east  passage  to  India,  where 
it  w^  wrought.  There  was  another  chalice,  fianci-* 
ftdly  worked  in  the  form  of  a  Gothic  church-tower 
with  little  bells,  and  inscribed  with  the  date  1509» 
Several  paintings  and  prints  of  religious  subjects  and 
portraits  were  in  the  sacristy,  but  none  of  much 
value.  We  are  always  eagerly  looking  out  for  worthy 
specimens  of  pictorial  art,  and  almost  always  dis« 
appointed.  From  the  sacristy  we  went  to  see  the 
'^  Altar  of  the  Sacrament,^'  where  is  a  highly  curious 
and  ancient  wood-carving  of  The  Church  Triumphant; 
an  allegorical  piece  of  many  figures,  all  cut,  and 
well  cut,  in  one  massive  piece  of  timber.  In  the 
Capetta  Mor,  the  Great  Chapel,  we  saw  the  stone 
tombs  of  the  Conde  Don  Henrique  and  his  wife 
Theresa,  the  parents  of  Alfonso  Henriques  first  king 
of  Portugal.  Near  the  main  entrance  to  the  S^e  is  a 
bronze  monument  to  an  Infante,  who  died  at  Braga, 
a  son  of  John  I.    We  next  visited  the  gorgeous 


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BRAGA.  109 

choir^  with  its  rich  old  warnscots  and  stalls  of  dark 
wood  carved ;  the  wainscotting  is  partly  gilded.  We 
here  examined  also  the  double  organ^  so  much 
admired  for  its  power  of  sound.  We  likewise  saw 
the  ritual  and  breviary,  black-letter  on  veUum,  from 
which  the  Mus- Arabic  liturgy  was  performed  as .  at 
Toledo.  Our  kind  friend  the  canon  conducted  us 
over  every  part  of  the  cathedral.  Thence,  accompanied 

by  Major  B ,  an  officer  on  the  staff  here,  we 

visited  several  other  churches  and  public  buildings. 
We  then  went  to  the  Carvalheiras,  the  oak-trees, 
where  are  several  grand  old  oaks,  some  of  the  trunks 
above  sixteen  feet  in  circumference ;  and  here,  front- 
ing and  flanking  one  side  of  the  chapel  of  St.  Sebas- 
tian, are  twelve  of  the  tall,  round,  huge  milestones 
which  the  Romans  placed  on  their  five  roads  that 
led  from  Braga  to  Astorga,  &c.  These  twelve  were 
first  removed  to  the  great  square,  the  Campo  de  Sant 
Anna,  by  one  of  the  Archbishops,  and  subsequently 
by  another,  for  yet  greater  security,  to  this  more 
retired  part  of  the  city.  I  shall  have  something 
more  to  say  respecting  them  presently. 

After  our  return  to  the  inn,  Os  doua  Amigoa,  the 
two  Friends,  several  persons  called, — ^for  we  had  more 


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110  BRAGA. 

letters  of  reoommendation  than  enough ;  and  some 
gentlemen  rather  awkwardly  met  in  our  room^  whom 
political  antipathies  usually  kept  out  of  each  other's 
company.  Our  firiend  the  canon  brought  his  brother, 
a  colonel  in  command  of  a  regiment  stationed  here^ 
who  was  most  obliging.  Among  other  good  offices, 
he  civilised  our  arriero  for  us  by  some  menace  which 
I  did  not  clearly  comprehend.    The  man,  who  knew 

Colonel  P ,  was  frightened  and  humbled^  and 

begged  the  Colonel  to  say  nothing  to  his  master,  so 
we  hoped  to  have  no  more  trouble  with  him. 

June  4th.  • 
At  hatf-past  8  a.m.  we  paid  another  visit  to  the 
Cathedral,  and  afterwards  revisited  the  Carvalheiras, 
the  oaks,  and  the  Roman  milestones,  the  handsome 
Church  of  the  Hospital,  the  Church  of  the  Franciscan 
Nunnery  of  the  RemedioSy  and  that  of  the  UrsuUne 
Nunnery.    The  gentlemen  returned  the  call  of  Mr. 

G ,  who  was  not  at  home,  or  probably  was  at  his 

sesta,  as  it  was  during  the  heat  of  the  day  that  they 
called,  so  we  missed  the  view  of  some  paintings  by 
old  masters,  to  which  he  had  promised  us  access  in 
several  private  houses. 


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NOSSO  SENHOR  DO  MONTE.  Ill 

At  half-past  4  f.m.^  we  set  off  for  Nosso  Senhar  do 

Monte,  accompanied  by  Colonel  P ,  his  brother 

the  prebendary^  Major  B ,  and  the  Adjutant  of 

Colonel  P ^'s  regiment^  and  Major  P of  the 

cavahy.  We  were  a  clattering  troop^  for  Portuguese 
cavaliers  are  rather  fond  of  keeping  their  horses  in  a 

fidget.    J ,  on  her  white  horse^  which  followed 

the  example  of  the  others,  was  not  half  sure  that  she 
liked  all  liiat  prancing,  but  she  soon  became  reconciled 
to  it,  and  then  enjoyed  it,  till  the  party  being  mis- 
directed up  the  left  side  of  the  Mount,  a  very  steep 
ascent,  some  of  the  gentlemen  persuaded  her  to  alight 
and  walk  with  them  to  the  top.  There  we  met  a  gaudy 
procession,  which  was  picturesque  enough,  with  its 
silken  flags,  its  tinsel-decked  images,  in  tinsel  state 
equipage,  carried  aloft  on  poles  on  men's  shoulders. 
These  were  preceded  by  a  band  of  drummers  who 
belaboured  their  parchment  lustily,  and  followed  by 
a  train  of  holiday  officials  and  gazers.  From  Braga 
to  the  foot  of  this  very  remarkable  eminence  is  about> 
or  above,  two  miles.  We  rode  over  a  roughly-paved 
causeway  the  greater  part  of  the  way ;  the  country 
on  each  side  rich  and  green.  When  we  reached  the 
foot  of  the  mount  we  should  have  rode  up  a  stone 


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112  N.  S.  DO  MONTE. 

causeway^  shaded  on  each  side  by  a  line  of  cork-trees^ 
then  proceeded  up  a  zig-zag  road^  walled  in^  and  also 
flanked  by  fine  oaks^  the  meeting  branches  of  which 
form  a  most  agreeable  roof,  allaying  the  glare  not 
only  of  the  sun  but  of  the  newly  whitewashed  waUs, 
for  whitewashed  they  always  are  the  week  before 
Whitsuntide,  the  week  of  the  great  festival.  We 
should  have  dismounted  at  the  gateway  superscribed 
Jerusalem  Renewed ;  there  the  acclivity  is  very 
steep,  and  we  ought  to  have  pursued  the  zig-zagged 
angularly  walled  road,  which  is  furnished  at  intervals 
with  flights  of  steps  of  polished  stone,  and  pinnacled 
oratories  right  and  left  all  the  way  up,  containing 
figures  sculptured  and  painted,  as  large  as  life,  repre- 
senting the  divine  tragedy.  The  Last  Supper  of  Our 
Lord,  His  Sufierings  and  Crucifixion.  At  the  side 
of  each  oratory  is  a  fountain  received  by  a  stone 
basin  j  there  are  shaven  edges  of  box  along  the  walls. 
Then  there  are  allegorical  figures  of  the  five  semes ; 
and  figures  of  saints.  Then,  on  a  pedestal  fixed  on 
a  huge  round  stone,  a  statue  oi  St.  Longinus  on 
horseback,  spear  in  hand.  This  is  said  to  be  a  good 
sculpture,  but  is  just  now  disfigured  with  whitewash. 
It  used  to  be  gilded.     Above  this,  and  near  the  top 


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N.  a  DO  MONTE,  113 

of  the  richly-wooded  mount,  is  the  elegant  Church 
o{  N0S8O  Senhor  do  Monte,  which  we  entered  with 
difficulty,  for  great  was  the  press  of  devotees^  In 
the  sacristy  is  a  large  and  much-admired  crucifix 
in  ivory,  the  figure  and  cross  skilfully  carved.  Above 
this  church,  on  the  flat  head  of  the  mountain,  is  an 
area  inclosing  several  chapels,  gilded  within  and 
furnished  with  statuary  in  the  taste  of  the  oratories 
below.  The  site  of  the  church  and  of  these  chapels 
is  very  fine.  Huge  mossy  stones  and  rocks  Ue 
scattered  about,  among  the  glades  of  the  woods,  or 
detached;  and  the  wide  prospect  of  plains  and  forests, 
and  fertile  fields  and  swelling  hills,  and  pointed  peaks, 
is  as  admirable  as  man  may  wish  to  look  on. 

I  have  only  attempted  to  convey  a  general  notion 
of  the  sort  of  place,  and  I  have  not  been  very  parti- 
cular in  my  enumeration,  nor  in  my  description  of 
the  various  objects  of  devotional  art  with  which  it 
superabounds.  For  the  most  part  there  is  more 
intensity  of  purpose  manifest  than  skill  in  execution. 
The  mere  virttioso  wovid  turn  away  from  most  of  the 
details  as  Ubels  on  architecture,  painting,  or  sculpture. 
But  look  at  those  crowds  of  pilgrims.  They  are  no 
critics.    Look  in  the  faces  of  any  twenty  of  them 


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114  N.  S.  DO  MONTE. 

who  are  assembled  about  aay  one  of  these  chapels. 
Surely  Faith  has  led  them  hither^  though  FoUy  may 
here  have  usurped  some  of  her  functions.  You  may 
see  that  they  have  hearts^  and  that  the  spirit  of  the 
place  hsiA  found  them. 

This  mountain,  or  rather  the  whole  range,  was 
anciently  called  A  ParteUa  de  Espinho,  '^the  thorny 
passage.^'  The  name,  aUusive  probably  to  the  then 
state  of  the  Serra,  a  wilderness  of  thicket  and 
bramble,  does  not  violently  or  inaptly  give  way  to 
that  of  Calvary,  which  the  summit  and  the  church  of 
this  ^'  Monte  do  Bom  Jesus  "  now  bear.  Argote,  in 
1774,  gives  an  int^esting  account  of  the  pomp  of 
this  sanctuary  as  it  was  in  his  time.  Bancs,  the 
historian,  two  centuries  earlier,  mentions  it  as  a 
simple  Ermida,  the  little  chapel  of  St.  Magdalen, 
with  a  ceU  adjoining.  The  priest  who  occasionally 
officiated  there  received  as  his  due  from  the  parish- 
ioners three  early  ripe  figs  and  a  gourd  of  water. 
The  chapel  was  named  after  Mary  Magdalen,  and 
the  parish  was  then  called  Christina.  There  are  two 
ways  of  considering  such  exhibitions  of  religious 
enthusiasm  as  are  seen  here.  For  my  part,  I  am 
unwilling  to  take  part  with  the  scoffers. 


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TEA.DBINK  WITH  NUNS.  115 

We  walked  to  the  foot  of  the  mountaixL  by  the 
way  already  described  as  that  by  which  yisitors 
usually  make  their  approach.  We  then  rode  back 
to  Braga^  and  dismounted  at  a  niumery,  at  which 

the  Lady  Abbess^  through  Colonel  P and  the 

Conego,  had  invited  us  to  drink  tea.  It  was  the 
Ccmvento  dos  Remedios,  the  Franciscan^  not  the 
Ursuline^  which  is  also  a  noted  nunnery  here.  The 
Abbess^  a  stout  elderly  person  of  cheerful  aspect^ 
two  old  sisters^  and  three  or  four  young  nuns ;  one 
of  them  pretty^  another  witty^  and  aU  merry^  gaily 
bade  us  welcome.  We  sate  in  the  parlour^  barred 
out  from  the  nuns  by  a  double  fence^  two  gratings  of 
iron  about  two  yards  apart^  the  inner  one  stronger 
and  more  closely  grated  than  the  outer^  but  both 
open  enough  to  admit  us  to  an  easy  view  of  the 
nuns^  figures  and  features^  as  they  sate  in  semicircle 
opposite  to  us^  as  blithe  and  talkative  as  caged  par- 
rots^ each  range  of  bars  being  at  least  eight  feet 
square. 

They  gave  us  good  tea,  excellent  sweetmeats,  and 
flowers.  The  latter  they  divided  amongst  us,  not 
without  some  arch  allusion  to  "  the  language  of 
flowers,'^  which  they  seemed  very  well  to  understand. 


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116         LANGUAGE  OF  FLOWEBS. 

To  J and  me  they  presented  the  first  bouquets^ 

and  the  choicest.     To  Mr.  and  Mr.  H , 

who  were  strangers  also^  they  gave  flowers  which^  I 
bdieve^  had  no  meaning  but  that  of  an  offering  of 

common  courtesy.    To  Major  P and  the  Canon, 

both  of  whom  bandied  irony  with  them,  they  gave 
flowers  intended  to  turn  them  into  ridicule,  which 
produced  a  good  deal  of  laughter,  and  animated  the 
merry  warfare  of  words.  The  bouquets  were  passed  by 
a  young  nun  through  the  rundle,  or  little  rotatory 
wicket  at  one  comer ;  but  never,  when  for  a  gentle- 
man, without  being  first  offered  to  the  inspection  of 
the  Abbess,  who  always  assented  to  their  delivery 
without  examining  them.  One  of  the  young  vestals 
went  out,  and  returned  with  a  bunch  of  flowers, 
which,  after  being  thus  held  up  to  the  Lady  Abbess, 
for  formes  sake,  were  handed  by  this  pretty  religieuse 
to  the  Coneffo.  Every  blossom  of  which  it  was  com- 
posed was  a  satire  on  him:  so  he  gaily  revenged 
himself  by  pretending  to  have  found  a  billet-doux 
concealed  within  it.  He  affected  to  put  it  hastily  in 
his  pocket,  and  acted  his  part  very  weU:  but  the 
Abbess  was  nothing  discomposed  by  all  this  innocent 
raillery.    The  Abbess  told  me  that  she  and  her  sister 


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QUINTA  DE  VISCAINHOS.  117 

had  been  imprisoned  by  Don  Miguel^  for  two  years 
or  more,  as  suspected  malhadasy  or  persons  tainted 
with  liberalism.  What  a  churl  must  Don  Miguel 
have  been  !  As  if  a  nunnery  was  not  of  itself  prison 
enough. 

By  the  bye,  this  prince,  during  the  siege  of 
Oporto,  resided,  for  a  short  time,  in  the  Arch- 
bishop^s  Palace  at  Braga,  and  of  course  visited 
N.  S.  do  Monte.  The  Canon  assured  me  that  on 
that .  occasion  the  road,  the  walls,  the  trees  on 
each  side,  were  loaded  with  men,  women,  and  chil- 
dren, who  hailed  him  with  transports  of  loyalty, 
those  who  were  on  the   ground   kneeling   as   he 


After  taking  our  leave  of  those  affable  nims,  we 
went  to  see  the  Quinta  de  Yiscainhos,  which  was 
tastefully  laid  out,  and  inclosed  by  walls  with  ram- 
part walks,  and  turrets  with  eye-holes,  commanding 

agreeable  views.     Mr. saw  this  quinta  nearly 

twenty  years  ago,  and  again  in  1886.  It  was  on  his 
first  visit  in. better  order  than  it  has  been  since  the 
war  of  the  brothers.  The  owner,  as  he  was  informed 
in  ,1836,  had  expended  so  much  money  in  enter- 
tainments while  Don  Miguel  was  at  Braga,  that  he 


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118  SUPPRESSION  OF  MONAST£BI£S. 

afterwards  retired  to  Iiis  country  seat  to  economise^ 
having  let  this  qxiinta  with  the  mansion  to  which  it 
is  attached. 

We  returned  to  the  inn,  with  the  companions  of 

our  ride.    Colonel  P had  ordered  the  band  of 

his  regiment  to  be  in  attendance.  They  played  in 
the  square  under  the  windows  of  our  apartments 
till  past  ten,  when  they  were  dismissed,  and  our 
friends  left  us  to  rest,  as  we  were  to  rise  early. 
They  had  tried  to  tempt  us  to  stay  at  Braga  over  the 
next  night,  with  the  promise  of  a  ball,  but  we  were 
unable  to  afford  the  time,  and  anxious  to  be  among 
the  mountains  of  Ger^z. 

Until  Don  Miguelwas  deposed,  1833,  there  were 
several  monasteries  in  full  enjoyment  of  gross  reve- 
nues and  privileges  at  Braga.  These  of  course, 
sharing  the  fate  of  all  monastic  institutions  in  the 
realm,  were  suppressed  by  the  laiumphant  Liberals. 
All  such  of  the  dignitaries  of  the  Cathedral  too  as 
had  been  conspicuous  Migoehtes  were  ejected,  on  a 
small  stipend  scarcely  sufficient  to  buy  them  bread; 
and  that  stipend  was  not  paid:  so  that  the  lordly 
churchmen  and  monks,  who  had  luxuriated  on  the 
cream  of  the  land,  were  reduced  to  extreme  diistress. 


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DESTITUTE  MONKS.  119 

and  in  many  cases  were  destitute  of  all  means  of 
existence  but  such  as  their  friends^  or  the  casual 
bounty  of  strangers,  might  supply.  Our  friend  the 
Canon,  though  a  Constitutionalist,  said  to  me,  on 
this  subject,  that  it  was  a  cruel  reform,  huma  reforma 
barbara;  not  that  he  disapproved  of  a  searching 
correction  of  ecclesiastical  abuses,  nor  even  of  the 
suppression  of  monasteries ;  but  he  thought  that  the 
parties  expelled  were  entitled  to  a  moderate  life-in- 
terest in  the  rents  of  their  sequestered  estates,  or  to 
such  annuities  out  of  the  produce  of  the  sale  of  church 
lands  as  would  enable  them  to  live  in  decent  comfort, 
whatever  their  political  offences  might  have  been. 
This  concession  would  have  been  a  return  of  good 
for  evil  to  those  haughty  priests  and  friars  in  their 
humiliation,  and  would  have  been  in  harmony  both 
with  the  professions  of  liberalism  and  the  law  of 
Cliristianity.  It  is  true,  however,  that  as  to  the 
extreme  pimishment  of  death,  and  the  wretched 
infliction  of  imprisonment,  the  Constitutionalists 
showed  much  more  lenity  than  the  MigueKtes,  and 
even  as  to  the  sequestration  of  private  property, 
whereof  the  latter  were  savagely  grasping. 

That  the  Cathedral  is  a  very  antique  temple  there 


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120  BBA6A  CATHEDRAL. 

can  be  no  doubt,  and  that  the  site  may  have  been 
that  of  some  very  ancient  Pagan  fane  is  possible, 
though  I  will  not  refer  the  foundation  quite  so  far 
back  as  Osuis,  as  some  writers  have  done  as  confi- 
dently as  if  they  had  recovered  the  books  of  Thaut, 
the  lost  key  of  the  Egyptian  Mysteries.  That  a 
portion  of  the  present  edifice  may  be  at  least  coeval 
with  the  monarchy  seems  probable,  and  would  be 
certain  if  we  were  sure  that  the  remains  of  Count 
Henry,  father  of  the  first  King  of  Portugal,  were 
there  deposited  immediately  after  his  decease,  which 
occurred  on  the  1st  of  May,  1112  or  1114  (the  year 
is  disputed).  Some  chroniclers  assert  that  he  died 
at  Astorga,  however;  and  it  is  just  possible  that  he 
may  have  been  buried  there  or  elsewhere,  and  trans- 
lated hither  subsequently.  The  Capella  Mor,  in 
which,  as  I  have  mentioned,  are  his  tomb  and  his 
wife^s,  is  no  portion  of  the  original  structure,  for  it  was 
rebuilt  in  1530  in  the  reign  of  John  III.,  and  the 
original  building  itself  had  been  in  great  part,  some 
win  have  it  entirely,  renewed  by  the  Primate  Don 
Laurence  towards  the-  close  of  the  14th  century. 
It  would  not,  I  believe,  be  easy  to  assign  to  their 
true  dates  all  the   architectural    varieties   of   the 


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PRIMATES*— RELICS,  121 

cathedral.  The  towers  and  the  two  sides  of  the 
main  entrance  seem  the  most  ancient. 

There  are  ecclesiastical  historians  who  gravely 
assert  that  St.  James  the  Apostle  preached  in  this  city 
in  the  year  of  our  Lord  36,  From  that  time  up  to 
1 755  they  count  115  prelates,  of  whom  twenty-two 
were  canonized,  namely,  St.  Peter  de  Rates,  their 
first  bishop;  Basil,  Ovid,  Policarp,  Fabius,  Felix, 
Narcissus,  Solomon,  Leoncius,  Patemus,  Profoturus, 
Albert,  Martin  de  Dume,  Tobias,  Peter  Julian,  Fruc- 
tuosus,  Quiricus,  Leodecisius,  Felix  Secundus,  Vic- 
tor Martyr,  Geraldus,  and  Godwin,  (O  beato  Don 
Godinho). 

The  cathedral  contains,  as  we  are  told,  the  bodies 
of  St.  Pedro  de  Rates,  of  St.  Gerald,  St.  Martin  de 
Dume,  St.  Ovid,  St.  James,  (St.  Jago  interciso  Martyr, 
the  Martyr  cut  asunder),  and  also  that  of  Don — ^not 
saint,  for  he  was  not  canonized — ^Louren90,  of  good 
memory,  (the  mummy  mentioned).  Besides  these 
and  many  other  relics,  there  are,  or  were,  a  thorn  of 
the  crown  of  our  Saviour,  milk  of  his  holy  mother ! 
an  arm  of  St.  Luke  the  Evangelist,  &c.,  all  in  reli- 
quaries of  silver  or  gold.  The  real  treasures  of  this 
cathedral  were  among  the  richest  in  all  Spain.   They 

VOL.  I.  G 


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122      CATHEDRAL  PLATE.— REVENUES. 

consisted  of  lai^  vessels^  &c.,  of  gold  and  silver 
plate^  of  most  costly  furniture^  and  of  pontifical  robes 
and  ornaments^  of  which  the  intrinsic  precionsness 
was  exceeded  by  the  valne  of  the  workmanship,  and 
all  in  prodigious  quantity.  We  saw  many  of  these 
things ;  bnt  no  doubt  the  French  war,  and  the  civil 
war,  and  the  incessant  changes  and  commotions 
since,  have  considerably  reduced  the  tangible  wealth 
of  this  see.  Church  plate,  even  so  recently  as  last 
year,  was  appropriated  by  ministerial  authority  to 
the  service  of  the  State.  Church  revenues  had  long 
before  been  looked  after  by  the  hungry  treasury. 
Our  liberal  canon  told  me,  however,  that,  though  his 
income  and  privileges  had  been  much  cut  down,  he 
had  still  a  fair  allowance  of  both.  The  rental  of  the 
archbishop  used  to  amount  to  above  100,000  crowns. 
Ten  crowns  are  a  moidore ;  a  moidore  is  about  twenty- 
five  shillings  English.  This  was  about  10,000/.  a 
year;  a  great  income  in  Portugal  such  a  sum  would  be 
now :  very  great  and  princely  it  was  in  former  times. 
Almost  every  part  of  Portugal  abounds  with 
interest  for  the  antiquary ;  but  Braga,  "  Bracara 
Augusta,^^  and  the  surrounding  district  especially 
invite  his  research,  and  wiU  reward  it  in  spite  of 


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ROMAN  REMAINS.  123 

the  wear  and  tear  of  ages^  and  the  rougher  hand  of 
modem  demolition. 

A  Roman  aqueduct^  temple^  and  amphitheatre^ 
noted  by  TJrcuUu  as  existing  at  Braga  when  he  was 
preparing  his  work^  had  disappeared  before  his  work 
was  published.  The  amphitheatre  was  destroyed,  or 
rather  the  remains  of  it  were  removed,  that  the  cleared 
space  might  gratify  an  Abbade's  wish  to  enlarge  his 
garden.  The  temple  was  taken  down  to  make  room 
for  a  cemetery,  and  during  this  operation  several 
coins  of  Titus,  &c.  were  found;  also  a  beautiful 
miniature  statue  of  Bacchus  astride  on  his  wine- 
butt,  and  other  sculptures.  On  the  taking  down, 
yet  more  recently,  of  an  ancient  tower  behind  the  S^, 
several  coins  of  Nero  were  discovered ;  one  of  gold, 
weighing  23i  carats,  and  in  beautifiil  preservation. 
In  the  street  still  csHeARua  de  Janus  stood  formerly 
a  temple  of  Janus,  and  in  one  of  the  adjacent  gar- 
dens a  figure  of  the  two-&ced  god  was  not  long  ago 
disinterred. 

The  general  ignorance  of  the  Portuguese  people, 
says  an  enlightened  countryman  of  their  own,  the 
heedlessness  of  the  magistrates,  and  the  apathy  of 
the  government  (Pombal^s  administration  excepted), 
have  gradually  caused  the  disappearance  of  many 

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124  ROMAN  REMAINS. 

monuments  cotemporaneous  with  the  Roman  sway 
in  Lusitania.  Up  to  the  year  1837  the  elegant 
temple  of  Diana  at  Evora^  of  which  seven  pillars  are 
yet  standing,  had  served  during  nearly  a  century  as 
shambles :  it  was  then  only  purified  of  its  abomi- 
nation on  the  urgent  remonstrance  of  some  persons, 
whose  offended  tastes  might  have  been  disregarded  as 
fastidiousness,  but  that  luckily  they  were  persons  of 
influence  with  the  cdmara^  or  town-council. 

The  Portuguese  gentleman  thus  complaining  had 
true  reasons  to  reproach  the  local  authorities  for 
their  neglect,  or  worse  than  neglect,  of  the  vestiges 
of  antiquity.  He  even  gives  several,  and  some  ludi- 
crous, examples  of  their  proceedings,  worthy  of  the 
Juiz  da  Beira,  Gil  Vicente^s  honest,  but  not  wise. 
Justice  Shallow ;  and  worthy,  too,  of  our  own  civic 
^'  Worships  "  in  many  a  town-corporate  and  many  a 
venerable  episcopal  city  of  Old  England ;  to  say  no- 
thing of  our  railway  directors,  highwaymen  by  act  of 
Parliament,  who  sweep  all  before  them,  old  things  and 
new  things, — an  old  manse  or  a  new  glebe-house, 
aye,  and  even  a  hospital  or  a  church  :  they  have  but 
to  nod,  and  "  temple  and  tower  go  to  the  ground." 

I  believe,  however,  that  it  often  happens  in  Catholic 
countries,  when  local  authorities  are  accused  of  in- 


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ROMAN  REMAINS.  125 

sensibility  to  the  beauty  or  historical  interest  of 
ancient  architecture^  and  of  gross  ignorance  in  deal- 
ing with  it,  that  the  destruction  or  contempt  of  such 
monuments,  especially  of  devotional  structures,  may 
be  less  certainly  imputed  to  those  causes  than  to  a 
mistaken  feeling  of  religious  zeal.  What  reverence 
for  art  ever  staid  the  hand  of  an  iconoclast  when  the 
fit  was  on  him  ?  The  destruction  of  idols  and  of 
buildings  dedicated  to  pagan  worship  is  with  the 
sincere  bigot  but  an  act  of  faith.  The  use  of  a 
Boman  temple  as  a  hire,  or  as  a  butchery,  is  but 
another  and  more  convenient  protestation  against 
paganism.  Even  the  disregard  of  successive  genera- 
tions of  Portuguese  of  aU  classes,  with  now  and  then 
an  individual  exception,  to  other  and  not  religious 
objects  of  Boman  construction,  such  as  aqueducts 
and  amphitheatres,  is  little  to  be  wondered  at.  For 
aqueducts  that  had  fallen  into  disuse,  for  amphi- 
theatres that  were  useless,  for  colossal  milestones  and 
tabular  inscriptions,  they  had  no  respect.  Whatever 
was  unserviceable  where  it  stood,  they  never  hesi- 
tated, when  within  easy  reach,  to  appropriate  to  any 
needful  purpose ;  and  the  lords  of  the  soil,  monastic 
or  lay,  for  the  most  part,  took  no  heed  of,  or  acqui- 
esced in  and  even  encouraged,  the  practice.    Bridges 


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126  LATIN  LANGUAGE. 

and  roads  they  retained  whenever  it  suited  them, 
just  as  they  retained  walls,  and  watch-towers,  and 
houses  of  the  Moors,  not  from  any  sympathy  with 
the  makers,  but  from  the  commodiousness  of  the 
things  made.  History  tells  us  of  Roman  legions 
that,  in  Portugal,  forgot  their  patriotism,  and  would 
have  made  the  banks  of  the  Lima  their  home ;  but 
it  does  not  tell  us  that  the  Lusitanians  ever  loved 
their  conquerors.  It  does  tell  us  how  long  and  suc- 
cessfully they  resisted  them.  It  relates  the  defeats 
of  Manilius  and  Piso,  of  Metellus  and  Pompey, 
when  the  Lusitanians  were  led  by  Viriatus,  a  man  of 
Carthaginian  race,  but  Lusitanian  birth,  and  by  Ser- 
torius,  a  proscribed  Roman.  The  Romans,  with 
these  great  and  other  less  important  interruptions, 
were  masters  of  Lusitania  nearly  seven  centuries. 
Before  their  expulsion  by  the  northern  hordes,  their 
language  must  have  taken  deep  root;  for  the  ad- 
mixtures of  all  the  barbarous  tongues  of  successive 
conquerors — ^the  Alani  and  Suevi,  Vandals  and  Visi- 
goths— seem  to  have  made  little  or  no  impression; 
and  even  the  Arabic,  during  the  long  dominion  of 
the  Saracens  and  Moors,  was  but  sparingly  received 
in  the  Lusitanian  vocabulary,  which,  to  the  eye,  and 
perhaps  even  to  the  ear,  is  to  this  day  more  than 


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PORTUGUESE  LANGUAGE.         127 

semi-Koman^  though  it  may  not  exactly  justify  the 
hyperbole  of  the  Portuguese  poet,  where  he  explains 
why  his  countr jnnen  were  favourites  of  Venus : — 

^  Venus,  the  friend  of  Lusians,  for  the  stamp 
They  bear  to  her  loyed  Romans  of  old  time, 
For  damitless  hearts,  for  lustre  of  arms  displayed 
In  Tingis, /or  likeir  apeechf  so  like  to  Rome'tf 
That,  vfken  com^paredf  U  deems  wUh  alight  (Moy 
The  Latin  UmgueV 

**,  Venus  bella, 
Affei9oada  k  gente  Lusitana, 
Por  quantas  qualidades  via  nella 
Da  antigua  tam  amada  sua  Romana, 
Nos  fortes  cora9oens,  na  grande  estrella, 
Que  mostraram  na  terra  Tingitana; 
£  na  lingua,  na  qual,  quando  imagina, 
Com  pouca  corrup9ao  crS  que  he  a  Latina." 

It  would  not  have  been  diflScult  for  the  poet  to  have 
strengthened  his  case  by  expressing  himself  in  this 
very  passage  in  as  perfectly  idiomatic  Portuguese, 
yet  in  phrase  still  more  Latin.  But  the  old  Portu- 
guese was  very  different  from  the  refined  language  of 
Camoens,  and  from  the  somewhat  less  polished  tongue 
written  in  the  days  of  Vasco  da  Oama.  The  mixed 
population  of  Lusitania,  descended  from  Asiatic,  and 
Greek,  and  African  settlers,  probably  spoke  a  lan- 
guage barbarously  compounded  of  many  idioms,  till 
the  sway  of  the  Carthaginians  in  this  country  was 


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128  THE  ROMANS. 

superseded  by  the  Boman^  216  years  before  Christ. 
The  Romans  during  their  long  occupation  here  esta- 
blished their  language  more  permanently  than  their 
power.  The  former  speech^  whatever  it  was,  gradually 
died  out,  saving  some  remnants  of  that  phraseology 
which  continued  in  use  only  among  the  agrarian  slaves 
(native  prisoners  of  war),  whom,  with  their  offspring, 
the  victors  employed  in  tillage,  excluding  them  firom 
the  towns.  But  it  was  the  current  tongue  of  the 
legions  and  officials,  not  that  of  Plautus  or  Terence, 
which  thus  prevailed :  and  this  vulgar  tongue,  with 
inevitable  modifications  that  made  it  still  less  pure, 
was  that  which  finally  resolved  itself  into  the  old 
Portuguese,  and  probably  became  more  and  more 
corrupt,  and  was  only  at  last,  and  by  very  slow 
degrees,  reformed,  and,  I  believe  it  may  be  said,  re- 
Latinized.  Several  of  the  earliest  scraps  of  song  that 
are  left  us  are  of  the  thirteenth  century,  and  though 
we  may  suppose  them  to  have  been  cast  in  the  best 
diction  of  the  time, — ^for  cavaliers,  and  even  a  king, 
are  the  authors, — they  have,  I  know,  somewhat 
puzzled  the  erudite  academicians  of  Lisbon. 

But  whatever  may  have  been  the  influence  of  the 
language  of  the  Bomans,  their  civilisation  was  a  rough 
file.  The  masters  of  the  world,  everywhere  more  feared 


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THE  NORTHMEN.— THE  MOORS.       129 

than  loved,  never  won  the  affections  of  this  people. 
To  them  the  monuments  left  by  the  Romans  were  so 
many  memorials  of  the  drudgery  to  which  they,  the 
natives,  had  been  compelled  in  erecting  them  under 
the  eye  and  guidance  of  their  task-masters,  with  the 
assistance  of  the  Roman  soldiery  in  some  cases.  The 
Suevi,  with  a  noble  pride,  ruthless  as  they  were  to 
life,  preserved  those  great  works  as  evidence  of  their 
own  glory  in  having  overmatched  the  great  people 
by  whose  skill  and  wiU  and  power  they  had  been 
raised.  The  Vandals  were  not  only  exterminators 
of  men,  but  destroyers  of  the  works  of  men.  The 
Saracens  and  the  Moors  troubled  themselves  little 
about  Roman  remains,  and  directed  their  rage 
against  Christian  temples  on  the  same  principle  as 
the  Christians  denounced  Pantheism ;  and  the  Pro- 
phet's people  naturally  made  the  mistake  of  supposing 
the  CathoUc  images  to  be  idols.  They  were,  how- 
ever, great  and  graceful  builders,  as  well  as  de- 
stroyers; and  they  were  more  tolerant  than  their 
enemies,  for  to  these,  when  subdued  and  living 
peaceably  under  their  rule,  they  did  not  interdict  the 
free  exercise  of  their  religion.  The  Portuguese 
hatred  of  foreign  domination,  and  of  the  memory  of 
domination,  has  perhaps  done  more  since  their  con- 

g3 

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130  ROMAN  MILESTONES. 

version  to  Christianity  towards  the  demolition  of 
Roman  antiquities  than  all  the  hammers  of  the 
Northmen  ever  did,  and  the  steadier  hostility  of  time. 

Borne,  but  Christian  Apostolic  Rome,  did  at  last 
conquer  the  hearts  of  the  Portuguese;  and  the  suc- 
cessors of  St.  Peter  did  at  last,  not  suddenly  or  abso- 
lutely, but  by  wary  perseverance,  establish  a  sway  that 
might  have  excited  the  jealousy  of  St.  James,  when, 
centuries  after  his  decollation  by  Herod,  he  accepted 
the  "  Captain-Generalship  of  all  the  Spains,''  fixed 
his  head-quarters  at  Compostella,  and  now  and  then 
careered  in  air,  in  knightly  armour,  over  the  lovely 
and  Moslem-ridden  valleys  of  the  Minho  and  the 
Lima. 

Yet  when  it  is  remembered  that  above  thirteen 
centuries  have  past  since  the  termination  of  the 
sway  of  pagan  Rome  in  Portugal,  the  devastation  of 
her  monuments  is  less  extraordinary  than  the  actual 
existence  of  so  many.  Of  these  remains,  the  lapi- 
dary inscriptions  are  next,  if  not  eqaal,  in  value  to 
the  ancient  coins — and  surely  of  at  least  equal  value 
when  they  happen  to  have  been  left  undisturbed,  as 
many  are  in  Gerfez  and  elsewhere,  on  the  spots  where 
they  were  originally  placed ;  because  the  subsidiary 
light  which  they  furnish  to  the  patient  investigator 


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LAPIDARY  INSCRIPTIONS.  131 

of  history  is  illustrative,  so  far  as  it  goes,  of  some 
intelligible  fact.  The  temple,  the  aqueduct,  the 
military  station,  the  tumulus,  the  road,  when  not 
illustrated  by  genuine  graven  records,  often  but 
provoke  conjectures  which  they  cannot  satisfy.  It 
is  true  that  even  lapidary  inscriptions  are  liable, 
though  in  a  less  degree,  to  the  same  objection. 
Time  does  its  work  on  them  as  on  everything,  and 
the  officious  hand  of  man,  even  where  it  would  not 
disfigure  but  restore,  has  not  un&equently  vitiated 
the  sense  and  authenticity  of  the  memorial.  It  is 
obvious  how  easily  this  process  may  be  effected,  by 
the  slip  of  the  renewer^s  graver  in  awkward  fingers, 
or  the  misdirection  given  to  it  by  his  honest  igno- 
rance. Scrupulous  antiquaries  well  know  what  im- 
portant variations  of  meaning  may  be  effected  by  a 
single  letter  more  or  less,  or  by  one  substituted  for 
another.  To  bungling  renovators,  and  to  others 
who,  it  is  said,  have  altered  letters  less  in  ignorance 
than  firaud,  to  help  a  theory  or  gratify  a  prejudice, 
may  be  partly  charged  the  disrepute  of  the  lapidary 
inscriptions  of  the  Spanish  peninsula.  I  say  partly, 
because  careless  transcribers  of  lithographic  records, 
and  they  who  have  published  them  on  trust,  have 
been  still  more  in  fault  for  that  discredit.     Learned 


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132  ARGOTE. 

men^  such  as  Eckhel  for  example^  could  make  notlimg 
of  their  gallimatia^  and  no  wonder ;  and  therefore^ 
having  no  access  to  the  originals^  they  condemned 
them  as  valueless.  Ai^ote^  the  voluminous  and  not 
unlearned  Portuguese  author  of  the  Antiquities  and 
Ecclesiastical  History  of  Braga^  was  a  notable  victun 
to  the  inaccuracy  of  transcribers.  His  works^  full  of 
mind  and  purpose^  are  of  little  authority,  chiefly  be- 
cause he  neglected  to  verify  the  exactness  of  inform- 
ation^ some  of  which  at  least  he  might  personally 
have  tested.  In  his  '^  Antiquidades  do  Convento 
Bracarens^/'  printed  1738,  he  says: — ^''I  went  to 
Braga  sixteen  years  ago  for  change  of  air.  I  resided 
there  three  years,  but  I  saw  little  of  the  province 
Entre  Douro  e  Minho,  having  then  no  idea  of  ever 
employing  myself  in  the  composition  of  memoirs 
of  the  Braga  district.  Illness  deterred  me  from  any 
close  examination  even  of  the  antiquities  that  exist 
in  Braga,  as  well  as  in  every  part  of  that  neighbour- 
hood.'*  When,  therefore,  he  was  about  to  commence 
his  labours,  he  procured  from  the  Government  an 
order  to  the  local  authorities  to  supply  him  with  such 
particulars  as  were  within  their  reach.  Hereupon, 
he  received  communications  fix)m  many  persons,  of 
various  degrees  of  intelligence,  without  combination 


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MILLIARY  COLUMNS.  133 

and  without  plan.  From  these  notices^  isolated  and 
often  incongruous^  and  from  such  crude  matter  as 
he  could  extract  firom  books^  he  compiled  his  facts 
and  drew  his  inferences.  Now,  it  is  weU  known 
that,  for  the  right  perusal  and  due  comprehension  of 
lapidary  inscriptions,  various  preparatory  knowledge 
must  have  been  acquired,  not  only  in  the  art  of 
deciphering  contractions,  but  also  in  the  history 
both  civil  and  political  of  the  countries  referred  to. 
Besides  which,  the  author  who  has  not  the  oppor- 
tunity of  ocular  inspection,  or  who,  like  Argote, 
neglects  it,  and  who  confides  in  casual  informants, 
or  in  books,  has  to  contend  with  the  carelessness 
of  copjdsts,  the  mistakes  inevitable  from  successive 
quotations,  the  charlatanism  of  many  who  are  called 
^'Utiquarians,  and  the  concision  of  theories  founded 
on  error,  but,  though  at  variance  with  each  other 
and  with  truth,  sanctioned  to  credulity  by  the  course 
of  time. 

It  is  remarkable  that  of  the  twelve  milliary  inscrip- 
tions at  the  CarvalheirdSy  at  Braga,  scarcely  one  was 
copied  with  perfect  fidelity  for  Argote  *.   Few  of  my 

*  The  only  accurate  correspondent  he  seems  to  have  had,  in  rela- 
idon  to  Roman  antiquities,  was  the  erudite  and  pains-taking  Don  L. 
Alvares  de  Figueiredo,  coadjutor  of  the  primate  Don  Roderick  de 
Moura  Telles,  and  afterwards  Bishop  of  Uranopolis. 


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134         THE  LEARNED  AT  FAULT. 

readers  will  care  to  inquire  into  such  grim  mysteries 
of  antique  stenography.  I  will  not  therefore  insert 
those  inscriptions  here^  though  I  have  them  all  at 
hand  as  they  were  copied  by  a  friend  of  mine  ten  or 
twelve  years  ago^  and  as  he  verified  them  not  only 
by  comparison  with  Captain  Diogo  Kopke's  copies^ 
but  more  recently  in  the  venerable  presence  of  the 
originals.  Nine  out  of  the  twelve  are  more  or  less 
imperfect ;  some  are  almost  illegible^  and  one  has 
but  a  single  letter  remaining.  Of  the  three  perfect 
ones,  however,  there  is  one  which  I  wiU  venture  to 
select,  because  it  has  been  variously  read  and  com* 
mented  upon,  not  only  by  Argote,  and  Morales,  and 
Father  Henao,  but  by  Gruter,  and  his  commentator, 
Holtenius;  by  Joseph  Scaliger,  and  Orsatus;  by  Pagi, 
and  many  other  very  learned  writers, — and  all  from 
inaccurate  copies!  These  accredited  writers  have 
raised  a  controversy  for  their  own  embarrassment 
and  that  of  others,  with  respect  to  the  interpretation 
of  letters  which  do  not  exist,  nor  can  ever  have  ex- 
isted, in  the  inscriptions  of  which  they  treat;  so 
that  they  have  utterly  puzzled  and  disgraced  the  tes- 
timony of  a  monument  which,  if  literally  transcribed, 
might  have  thrown  some  Ught  on  the  obscure  chro- 
nology of  the  emperor  C.  J.  V.  Maximinus, — an 


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MILESTONE  PUZZLE.  135 

epoch  that  has  much  exercised  the  ingenuity  of  the 
ablest  chronologers.  Here  is  the  inscription  as  it 
stands : — 

IMP  CAESAR  C  IVLIVS 
VERVS  MAXIMINVS  P  F 
AVG  GERMANIC  MAX  DACIC 
MAX  SARMATIC  MAX  PONT 
MAX  TRIB  POTESTATIS 
V  IMP  VII  P  P  CONS  PRO 
COS  ET  C  IVLIVS  VERVS 
MAX  NOBILISSIMVS  CAESAR 
GERMANIC  MAX  DACIC 
MAX  SARMATIC  MAX  PRINCEPS 
IVVENTVTIS  FILIVS  D  N  IMP  C 
IVLI  VERI  MAXIMINI  P  F  AVG 
VIAS  ET  PONTES  TEMPORE 
VETVSTATIS  CONLAPSOS 
RESTITVERVNT  CVRANTE  Q 
DECIO  LEG  AVGG  PRPR 
A  BRAC  AVG  M  PI 

Imperator  Cassar  Caiua  Julius  Verua  Maximinua, 
Pius,  Felix,  Augustus,  Oermanicus  Mcudmus,  Dacicus 
Maximus,  Sarmaticus  Maximus,  PanUfex  Maximus,  Tri- 
bumticB  Potestatis  QiUnqudea,  Imperator  Septies,  PaJUr 
Patrias,  Consul,  Proconsul,  et  Caiua  Julius  Verus  Maad- 
fnus,  Nobilissimus  Gcesar,  Oermanicus  Maximus,  Dacicus 
Maximus,  Sarmaiicus  Maximus,  Princeps  Juventutis, 
FUius  Domini  Nostri  Imperatoris  Caii  Julii  Veri  Maxi- 
mini  Pii  Felicis,  Augusti,  Vias  et  Pontes,  tempore  vetus- 
taiis  conlapsos,  restUuerunt;  earante  Quinio  Decio  Legato 
Atigustorum,  Proprcetor,  A  Bracara  Augusta  MiUe 
Passuum, 


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136  QUERY  TO  CHRONOLOGERS. 

Thus  read^  the  only  essential  difficnlty  that  the 
inscription  presents  lies  in  the  words  "  Trib.  Potcs- 
tatis  V/'  This  little  numeral  adverb  quinquies  is  the 
nut  that  is  so  hard  to  crack.  It  may  be  known  to 
the  reader^  that  the  predse  date  and  duration  of  the 
reign  of  the  first  Maximin^  the  gigantic  Thradan 
wrestler, — a  man  whose  elevation  to  imperial  power 
was  more  wonderfdl  than  Napoleon^s, — is  variously 
given  by  the  early  historians  of  the  Empire.  But  all 
modem  writers  on  the  subject,  whether  historians, 
chronologists,  medallists,  or  antiquaries,  of  whatever 
class,  and  however  disagreeing  on  other  points  of 
this  reign,  concur  in  assigning  rather  more  than 
three  years  only  to  its  duration,  adopting  the  ac- 
count of  Eutropius.  Then  how  comes  this  "  Trib. 
Pot.  V?^'  With  a  woman^s  logic,  by  guess,  I 
should  have  concluded  that  the  qualifying  unit 
had  been  accidentally  left  out  by  the  engraver,  and 
that  the  V  should  have  been  IV.  But  such  an  easy 
solution  seems  inapplicable  to  the  doubt ;  for  though 
we  find  a  distinguished  antiquarian,  Jacob,  so  skilled 
in  coins,  boldly  aflSrming  that  not  a  monument  is 
extant  which  makes  mention  of  Maximin's  fifth 
year  of  tribunitian  power,  this  stone  is  not  the  sole 


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MAXIMIN»S  REIGN.  137 

witness  to  the  contrary.  At  Bertiandos  is  a  mile- 
stone, brought  thither  from  Ponte  de  lima,  which 
bears  an  inscription  almost  identical  with  this  at 
Braga.  It  was  communicated  to  Argote  by  the 
same  Bishop  of  Uranopolis  mentioned  in  a  preceding 
note,  and  to  whose  honour  it  may  be  added,  that  if 
all  Argote^s  correspondents  had  been  as  faithfiil 
transcribers  as  he  was,  the  publications  of  Argote 
would  be  entitled  to  far  higher  estimation  than  they 
have  obtained.  Near  Yalmaseda,  in  Biscay,  is  an- 
other inscription ;  whether  on  a  milliary  column  or 
not,  does  not  appear  in  Father  Henao^s  ungramma- 
tical  copy,  where  the  dative  case  rules  a  verb.  It 
was  a  communicated  copy,  which,  he  says,  in  his 
"  Antiquities  of  Biscay,^*  he  compared  with  the  ori- 
ginal, and  found  correct ;  adding,  however,  that  he 
was  less  carefiil  than  he  ought  to  have  been  in  his 
examination!  In  this  we  have  "Trib.  V/'  The 
omitted,  perhaps  obliterated,  letters  can  be  no  other 
than  potestati,  or  an  equivalent  abbreviation.  As 
there  are  in  France,  as  weU  as  in  Spain  and  Portu- 
gal, many  similar  inscriptions  setting  forth  the  style 
of  one  or  other  of  the  later  emperors  (some  of  which 
inscriptions  were  hardly  cut  before  the  flattered  em- 
peror was  murdered),  it  is  possible  and  probable  that 


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138  DIOGO  KOPKE. 

there  may  be  other  unnoted  memorials  attributing 
the  fifth  year  of  tribunitian  power  to  Maximin. 

How,  then,  is  this  little  obstinate  stump,  which  has 
tripped  up  so  many  grave  chronologists,  to  be  removed 
from  their  path  ?  Captain  Kopke,  who  took  great 
pains  to  clear  it  away,  was  at  last  fain  to  console  his 
own  doubts  with  an  hypothesis  not  very  satisfactory,  as 
given  by  him  in  a  letter  to  the  gentleman  with  whom 
he  had  previously  discussed  the  difficulty.   He  says : — 

"  I  take  the  liberty  of  sending  you  proof-sheets  of 
an  eitract,^^ — ^for  which  see  Revista  Litteraria,  Porto, 
Jan.  1839, — "from  my  dissertation  on  the  ^TRIB 
POT  V  *  of  Maximin.  I  think  you  will  excuse  the 
unceremonious  form  in  which  jour  foster-son  so  early 
appears  before  you. 

"  Since  we  last  parted,  the  dissertation  has  grown 
into  a  good-sized  octavo  volume.  I  have  annexed — 
rather,  prefixed — ^to  it,  an  essay  on  the  tribunitian 
power  of  the  emperors,  gleaned  principally  from 
Eckhel;  and  I  have  inserted  in  the  body  of  the  work 
the  whole  of  the  observations  and  objections  of 
Eckhel,  Tillemont,  and  Muratori. 

"  I  will  venture  to  point  out  to  you  the  idea  on 
which  I  have  settled  down^^ — (as  to  the  fifth  year  of 
Maximin^s  tribunitian  power). 


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DIOGO  KOPKE.  139 

"  The  prolongatioii  of  Maximin^s  reigu  is  impeded 
by  the  commencement  of  the  third  Gtordian^s,  the 
number  of  whose  yean  of  empire^  and  the  data  of 
which  (the  termination  at  least),  appear  to  be  suffi- 
ciently well  fixed  by  the  historians.  Now,  I  make 
one  reign  independent  of  the  other ;  for  I  think  I 
am  authorised  to  state,  that  Grordian,  as  soon  as  he 
assumed  the  purple,  began  to  count  the  years  of  his 
reign,  not  Jrom  that  day,  but  from  the  day  in  which 
Pupienua  and  BaUnmcs  aggregated  him  to  themselves 
as  CmsaVf — ^he  considering  it  a  sort  of  usurpation  on 
their  part,  the  not  admitting  him  to  the  honours  of 
Augustus.  This  way  of  counting  clears  up  the  cause 
why  the  medals  of  the  Trib.  Pot.  I  of  the  third  Gor- 
dian  are  so  rare,  if  in  fact  any  exist;  and  also  explains 
the  largesses  (Uberalitas),  hitherto  unexplained,  which 
are  stamped  on  the  reverse  of  many  of  the  Trib. 
Pot.  11^'  (of  this  Gordian).  ''  These  donations  were 
distributed  on  occasion  of  his  real  accession  to  the 
throne,  on  which  very  day  he  began  to  count  Trib. 
Pot.  n.  Maximin^s  reign  may  thus  be  prolonged 
rather  longer;  his  reign  in  the  provinces ^^  to  the 
beginning  of  the  fifth  year. 

Captain  Kopke,  a  gentleman,  a  soldier,  and  a  scho- 


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140  DIOGO  KOPKE. 

lar,  died^  in  the  prime  of  life^  a  few  years  after  the 
date  of  the  above  letter.  He  had  been  educated  in 
England^  but  had  lived  long  enough  in  Portugal  after 
his  return  home  to  lose  somewhat  of  his  facility  in 
writing  English.  I  am  not  acquainted  with  the 
volume  alluded  to  in  the  foregoing  extract,  nor  do  I 
believe  it  has  been  published.  But  I  have  taken 
whatever  suited  my  purpose  from  his  paper  in  the 
''  Bevista  Litteraria/^  which  is  probably  a  fragment 
of  that  work;  and  whatever  is  valuable  in  these 
observations  may  be  found  there.  If  accurate  chro- 
nology were  not  the  very  pole-star  of  history,  the 
question  might  appear  too  trivial  for  notice.  It  is, 
after  all,  but  a  dot  in  the  world^s  doings,  and  may 
have  put  scientific  industry  to  more  pains  than  it  is 
worth ;  and  I,  as  an  unlearned  writer,  crave  grace  of 
my  unlearned  readers  for  having  troubled  them 
therewith.  I  will  only  further  remind  the  anti- 
quary, that  the  Roman  monuments  in  this  district, 
and  the  country  on  which  it  neighbours,  have  been 
by  no  means  worked  out. 

**  So  now  I  twitch  my  mantle  blue; 
To-morrow  to  fresh  fields  and  pastures  new.** 


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CARVALHO  D'ESTE.  141 


JUNB  5th. 

We  were  to-day  to  look  upon  sterner  forms  of 
mountains  than  we  had  yet  seen.  We  rose  at  3  a.m.^ 
and  were  out  of  Braga  before  4  a.m.  First  to  Car- 
valho  d^Este,  a  long  league,  up  hill  for  the  most  part, 
till,  turning  round  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  before 
reaching  that  village,  we  got  a  noble  view  of  Braga 
and  its  rich  plain,  and  a  glimpse  of  the  western 
ocean,  just  at  sun-rise.  From  this  hill  also  we 
witnessed  the  finest  effect  of  vapour  I  have  seen,  ex- 
cept once,  in  another  mountain  land,  when  descend- 
ing from  the  summit  of .     But  there  it  was  a 

pompous  army  of  clouds  marching  and  deploying 
under  me;  here  it  was  one  vast  stiff  body  of  whitest 
fog  imbedded  on  our  left  in  the  deep  valley  which 
it  fiUed,  and  so  motionless,  so  fast  asleep,  as  if  it 
would  never  wake  or  stir  to  the  call  of  the  winds, 
and  as  if  it  were  impermeable  to  the  sun,  and  lay 
there  as  a  shroud  to  some  great  mystery.  We  pro- 
ceeded over  hills  green  with  fern,  rhododendron, 
laurustinus ;  and  gay  with  a  thousand  flowers,  gum- 
cistus,  heaths  white  and  red,  yellow  gorse,  yellow 
broom  and  white,  wild  mignonette,  yellow  jessamine. 


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142  THE  VALE  OF  LIGHT. 

clematis^  lavender^  heartsease^  white  thom^  dog  rose 
white  and  red^  and  thousands^  thousands  more^  all^ 
or  most  of  them^  in  bloom^  all  sending  forth  an  ex- 
halation of  "  rich  distilled  perfumes  -/^  and  scattered 
among  this  wilderness  of  sweets  were  huge  gray 
stones^  or  rather  hillocks  of  stone ;  further  off  were 
stony  mountains  of  similar  appearance  to  these  hil- 
locks, but  in  parts  weD  sprinkled  with  trees,  oaks, 
cork  trees,  beeches,  and  interspersed  with  the  birch, 
the  wild  almond,  and  many  others  of  the  minor  sylva. 
Our  route  lay  through  the  villages  of  Pinheiro  and 
Anjaes,  leaving  on  our  right  the  lone  steep  crag 
on  which  stands  the  church  of  N.  S.  do  Pilar 
and  the  old  tower  of  a  castle  in  which  Alfonso 
Henriques,  if  the  legend  be  true,  imprisoned  his  mo- 
ther. Both  are  striking  objects,  which  we  proposed  to 
visit  on  our  return.  A  little  incident  that  occurred 
as  we  passed  through  the  next  small  village  (Yal  de 
Luz),  produced  from  one  of  our  party  the  following — 

LYRICS  ON  HORSEBACK. 
In  Yal  de  Luz,  the  Yale  of  Light, 
A  hamlet  neither  fair  nor  bright 

That  valley's  title  bears — 
(As  honoora  oft,  by  merit  won. 
Descend  to  some  ignoble  son, 

Or  wealth  to  worthless  heirs) — 


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A  ROAD-SIDE  WIZARD.  143 

A  narrow  street  of  squalid  huts, 
Fierce-visaged  men,  and  fiercer  sluts 

With  eyes  and  elf-locks  black, 
And  earth-brown  features  grinning  scorn. 
The  passing  stranger  seemed  to  warn, — 

^  Beware  of  an  attack!" 

Such  hints  are  spurs;  but  yet  the  last 
Ill-omened  shed  was  scarcely  past, 

When  checkt  was  every  steed  ! 
What  stops  us  here  t — a  torrent  strong, 
A  mighty  flood  of  glorious  song. 

Indignant  of  our  speed. 

The  Nightingale  of  lusty  lungs. 

The  bird  that  has  the  gift  of  tongues. 

The  key  to  every  breast; 
'T  was  he,  that  as  we  rode  along 
Waylaid  us  with  a  force  of  song. 

And  held  us  in  arrest. 

No  wanderer  through  a  dark  pine-wood 
To  brigand  mandate  ever  stood 

More  suddenly  than  we; 
Stopt  by  a  bird  in  open  day. 
An  Attic  bird  that  ambushed  lay 

Behind  an  olive-tree ! 

This  is  no  mere  fancy  versified.    The  fact  hap- 
pened as  it  is  told.     J and  I,  Mr. and  Mr. 

H y  all  puUed  np  at  once,  as  if  at  the  word  of 

command.  The  servants  being  behind  us  could  not 
do  otherwise.  There,  on  our  left,  in  an  olive  tree 
close  to  the  road,  ''  the  cunning  master  of  the  spell " 


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144  D 'S  STATION. 

was  hidden.  The  tramp  of  our  cavalcade^  and  onr 
abrupt  haltj  did  not  disturb  him.  He  continued  to 
"  cheer  the  village  with  his  song/'  and  us  too,  till 
at  last  we  broke  away. 

Igreja  Nova  (new  church,  which  might  now  be 
called  Igreja  Velha,  from  the  aged  appearance  of  its 
stone  church)  and  Posadouro  were  the  next  villages 
we  passed.  As  far  as  the  latter  place,  and  a  little 
farther,  you  are  on  the  road  from  Braga  to  Sala- 
monde;  but  not  far  beyond  Posadouro,  you  have 
the  Salamonde  road  above  you  on  the  right,  and  take 
the  lower  road  down,  or  down  and  up,  to  the  Grerfez. 
But  less  than  a  mile  before  you  thus  diverge  from 
the  Salamonde  road,  there  are,  on  the  left,  several 
eminences  from  which  are  to  be  seen  prospects  that 
when  once  seen  are  not  to  be  forgotten.  The  first 
of  these  memorable  views  opened  upon  us  as  we 
rambled  oflF  the  road  among  the  hiUs  on  the  left, 
and  the  eminence  from  which  we  witnessed  it  chanced 
to  be  the  very  point  of  view  that  we  had  been  cau- 
tioned by  Captain  and  Mrs.  D not  to  miss ;  but 

as  we  were  not  aware  that  we  were  so  near  the  turn- 
ing off  to  Grerfez,  about  which  they  had  warned  us,  it 
came  upon  me,  as  it  had  at  first  done  upon  our 


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GEREZ.  145 

friends,  with  all  the  force  of  a  surprise.  From  a 
green  ferny  slope,  about  which  are  scattered  huge 
smooth  brown  and  black  stones,  ^^  dropt  in  Nature^s 
careless  haste,^^  you  all  at  once  descry  the  deep,  rich, 
yery  green  and  woody  valley  of  the  Cavado;  a  long 
and  narrow  and  tortuous  pass,  through  which  the 
eye  may  trace  the  river  almost,  as  one  might  fancy, 
from  its  cradle  near  Montalegre,  (where  by  the  bye 
are  antiquities  worthy  of  note)  winding  far  away 
westward,  for  the  prospect  extends  both  up  and  down 
the  river,  of  course  at  two  views,  right  and  left,  from 
this  acclivity.  But  the  mountains  of  Gerez  thus 
abruptly  brought  home  to  us,  engage  the  sight  for 
some  minutes  to  the  exclusion  of  other  details. 
There  they  are,  " in  grim  repose/^  and  my  first  sen- 
sation was  as  if  I  had  suddenly  perceived  a  lion 
sleeping  across  my  path.  I  mean  that  the  grandeur, 
and  air  of  power  in  repose,  of  those  heights,  unex- 
pectedly discovered  so  near,  convey  an  impression  of 
awe  akin  to  that  which  might  be  produced  by  such 
an  adventure  as  meeting  a  lion  couchani,  real,  not 
heraldic,  though  of  course  without  the  fear  and  the 
retrograde  impulse  that  would  be  produced  by  such 
perilous  propinquity  to  the  great  wild  cat,  who  is 

VOL.  I.  H 


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146  GEREZ. 

called  the  king  of  beasts.  There  are  seyeral  views, 
each  yarjring  in  character  from  other  eminences  h^e, 
on  the  left  side  of  the  road^  equally  good,  I  think, 

with  this,  (which  I  call  "D ^'s  station,^  because 

he  marked  it  out  to  us),  but  none  perhaps  that  would 
produce  quite  so  striking  an  effect  of  awe  after  this 
view  If ZA  first  seen.  The  contrast  between  our  side 
of  the  river,  with  all  its  depths  and  undulations  of 
verdure,  at  once  graceful  and  noble,  and  that  stem, 
rugged  husk  of  the  G«r&z,  stony  and  bare  and 
steep,  is  indescribably  solemn.  Those  mountains,  as 
viewed  from  this  quarter,  are  a  heiq>  of  crags,  riches, 
and  peaks,  so  fantastic  in  their  outlines  and  angles, 
that  in  parts  their  features  might  be  called  elegant, 
if  the  whole  effect  was  not  too  grand  for  such  an 
epithet,  and  if  they  did  not  seem  more  like  elements 
of  chaos  than  like  forms  which  plastic  Nature  had 
handled  with  care. 

On  quitting  the  Salamonde  road  for  that  of  the 
Caldas,  turning  our  backs  on  the  Cavado,  to  meet  a 
smaller  but  as  bright  and  spirited  a  river,  the  Bio 
Caldo,  the  ride  became  more  difficult  than  it  had 
hitherto  been;  for  the  ways  were  steep,  narrow,  and 
rugged,  dipping  and  rising  and  twisting  most  uneasily; 


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RIO  CALDO.  147 

as  they  led  us  through  several  scattered  hamlets  of  one 

name^  as  we  understood^  Cani9ada^  then  by  Bou9as^ 

and  by  Villar  da  Veiga,  to  the  Caldas.   But  the  views 

were  ample  compensation  for  the  heat  and  fatigue 

endured.    Nothing  could  be  more  beautiful  than 

the  richly  wooded  slopes  shelving  down  to  the  river; 

and  (as  seen  through  glades  of  groves  of  oak  and 

chestnut^  and  often  over  the  heads  of  these  and  other 

lively  green  trees^  so  steep  were  some  of  the  rocky  and 

ferny  declivities  on  which  they  flourished)  nothing 

could  be  grander  than  those  formidable  mountains^ 

with  the  maay-tinted  river^  chafing  and  foaming  and 

shining  over  its  stony  channel^  yet  so  translucent 

that  the  great  rocks  under  water  in  the  deeper  parts 

of  its  bed  as  well  on  its  borders  were  as  distinct  to 

the  eye  as  if  no  river  covered  them.    This  clearness 

was  the  happy  accident  of  the  fine  weather  in  which 

we  were  travelling.    The  Caldo^  which  is  always  a 

*' river  running  with  a  young  man's  speed/'  must 

have  a  very  different  appearance  when  swollen  and 

turbid  with  heavy  rains  or  the  melting  of  the  snows 

of  the  Serra.    On  our  rights  too^  aU  the  way  from 

PosadourOj  as  we  went  up  and  down  and  wound 

along  our  hill-sides,  there  were  stony  and  woody 

2h 


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148  BOUSAS. 

mountains  which  would  have  engaged  more  of  our 
admiration  elsewhere;  but  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
Cavado  valleys  and  the  glens  of  the  Caldo^  and 
the  Gerfez  Serra,  we  had  not  much  to  spare  for 
them. 

Admirable  was  every  part  of  this  day^s  ride^  and 
even  the  stoic  philosc^hy  might  forget  the  cold 
egotism  of  the  motto  nil  admirari  in  such  a  wonderM 
country.  I  must  confess^  however,  that  the  fatigue, 
under  a  burning  sun  which  we  could  not  always 
escape,  was  sometimes  too  much  for  me,  and  it 
seemed  as  if  we  should  never  reach  Villar  da  Veiga, 
our  restiQg-place,  one  league  short  of  Gerez.  The 
village  of  Bou9as  lay,  as  it  appeared,  at  our  feet  at 
every  other  turn,  and  then  away  we  went  again, 
leaving  it  behind  us : — 

'<  The  long  rough  road,  returning  in  a  round, 
Mocked  our  impatient  steps,  for  all  was  fairy  ground." 

But  the  groves  of  ilex,  chestnuts,  ash-trees,  plane- 
trees,  and  even  of  olives,  (picturesque,  as  I  have 
before  remarked,  when  grouped  on  uneven  surfaces 
though  not  so  on  plains)  and  the  ever-recurring 
ramadas  of  vine,  were  refreshing  and  cheering,  the 
more  so  for  that  fierce,  bald  back-ground  of  the  Serra. 


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VILLAR  DA  VEIGA.  149 

At  last  we  did  plunge  down  into  Bou9as ;  we  crossed 
and  reerossed  the  river  over  a  bridge  of  wood,  and 
another  of  stone^  both  narrow,  and  without  rail  or 
parapet  and  therefore  somewhat  unpleasant  to 
ladies^  nerves.  Then  we  worked  up  and  down — 
chiefly  up — ^to  the  village  of  Villar  da  Veiga,  which 
is  a  pretty  place,  and  by  the  aid  of  comfortable 
architecture  might  become  quite  attractive.  In 
fipont  of  a  hut,  which  is  the  venda  or  wine-house,  is 
a  sort  of  Champ  ElysSe,  but  more  worthy  of  the 
name  than  the  Elysian  Fields  at  Paris;  for  here  it 
is  a  grove  of  strong-armed  and  wide-spreading  oaks, 
on  one  side  bordered  by  the  river,  over  which  is  a 
solid  stone  bridge,  parapeted. 

As  soon  as  we  arrived,  hooks  were  screwed  to  four 
trees,  and  my  Indian  hammock  and  J — — ^'s  were 
slung.  Into  them  we  got  without  delay,  and  were 
asleep  in  five  minutes;  a  tiny  clear  brooklet  tinkling 
along  just  under  us  on  its  way  to  the  river.  While 
we  slept,  the  gentlemen  had  our  cold  dinner  set  out 
on  a  table,  also  al  fresco.  When  aU  was  prepared, 
we  were  called ;  and  after  we  had  dined  under  the 
oaks,  we  retired  to  our  hammocks  again,  and  slept 
for  two  or  three  hours  more  under  the  greenwood 


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150  CALDAS  D£  GEREZ. 

trees^  till  man  and  horse  were  ready  to  start.  J - 

mounted^  singing — 

**  Come,  stain  your  cheeks  with  imttle-berry, 
You  11  find  the  gipsy's  life  is  merry." 

But  she,  poor  girl !  is  in  no  need  of  the  gipsy  cosme- 
tic ;  for  Sim  and  air  on  this  tour  have  already  stained 
her  cheeks  nut-brown.  We  were  on  horseback  again 
at  4  P.M.,  and  rode  leisurely  up  to  the  Caldas,  which 
is  itself  on  high  ground,  though  at  the  foot  of  the 
grim  mountain.  A  nearer  approach  to  the  Serra 
by  no  means  abated  our  sense  of  its  dignity. 

The  Tillage  of  Caldas  de  GerSz  is  small,  comprising 
but  a  few  cottages  and  several  lodging-houses;  all 
the  latter  and  most  of  the  former  shut  up  and  de- 
serted, except  for  two  or  three  months  in  the  season, 
which  had  not  yet  commenced,  for  its  hot  baths. 
The  natural  heat  of  the  springs  is  about  as  much  as 
the  hand  may  comfortably  bear.  The  street  is  inter- 
sected with  rivulets,  which,  being  cold,  seemed  to  be 
the  very  paradise  of  &ogs ;  they  were  leaping  and 
croaking  in  every  direction,  and  they  serenaded  us 
all  night. 

We  had  taken  the  precaution,  conformably  to 
advice  given  us  at  Oporto,  to  bring  two  days'  pro- 


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CALDAS  D£  6EREZ.  151 

vender  from  Braga^  and  also  to  send  on  a  person  from 
Yillar  da  Yeiga  to  open  one  of  the  lodging-houses 
for  us;  for  there  is  absolutely  no  accommodation  of 
any  description  to  be  had  here.  We  were,  therefore, 
introduced  into  an  empty  house :  but  with  the  ham- 
mocks, &c.  that  we  brought,  and  the  dvility  of  the 
two  or  three  persons  who  came  with  our  messenger 
from  Villar  da  Veiga,  we  did  well  enough.  We  had 
tea  without  milk,  and  bread  without  butter  (next 
morning  at  breakfast  the  same) — ^no  great  penalty 
for  curiosity  that  had  been  so  abundantly  gra- 
tified. By  the  bye,  how  the  cuckoos  played  at 
hide-and-seek  among  the  mountains  on  our  ride 
from  Braga  I 

*^  0  cuckoo,  shall  I  call  thee  bird. 
Or  but  a  wandering  voice !" 

And  how  we  flushed  the  red-legged  partridges,  whir, 
whir,  whir,  among  the  underwood,  and  even  on  the 
dusty,  lonesome  road-sides;  the  hen-bird,  followed 
by  her  small  brood,  usually  taking  the  alarm  first, 
while  the  bold  male  challenged  and  scolded  us,  and 
almost  suffered  himself  to  be  rode  up  to,  before  he 
took  flight. 

As  it  was  no  part  of  our  plan  to  penetrate  the 


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152  THE  6EIRA. 

recesses  of  this  mountain  range^  a  labour  that  some 
of  us  would  readily  have  undertaken  had  engage- 
ments permitted^  I  will  add  a  few  observations  upon 
it,  chiefly  from  Argote,  a  writer  whom  I  presume  to 
be  unknown  to  the  majority  of  English  readers. 

In  a  monthly  magazine  of  Oporto,  the  Revista 
IMterariay  1842,  are  three  "Articles/^  (on  the  G«ira 
and  the  Eoman  Boads,  Antiquities,  and  natural  pro^ 
ductions  of  the  Gerfez)  put  forth  as  the  "copy  of  an 
anonymous,  original  manuscript  supposed  to  have 
been  written  about  a  century  ago,  and  preserved  in 
the  Royal  Archives  of  the  Torre  do  Tombo  at  Lisbon, 
numbered  41/'  Eagerly  did  I  turn  to  the  perusal  of 
these  papers  after  such  an  announcement,  and  I  soon 
perceived  that  I  had  read  them  all  in  Argote  (whose 
first  volume  was  printed  in  1728,  and  the  last  in 
1747)  except  a  few  interpolations  in  a  turgid  and 
puerile  style  !  I  therefore  doubt  whether  any  such 
MS.  be  among  the  Torre  do  Tombo  Papers.  At  all 
events,  an  impudent  hoax  must,  I  suppose,  have  been 
played  upon  the  Editor  of  the  Oporto  '^Literary 
Review.'* 

The  great  Roman  Road  of  the  Gerfez  has  been 
admired  for  its  facility !    I  am  assured  by  one  who 


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THE  GEIRA.  153 

has  travelled  it  that  it  is  anything  but  easy  now, 
whatever  it  may  have  been  at  any  former  time. 
What  it  is  now,  it  probably  was  a  hundred  years  since, 
and  for  many  previous  centuries,  for  such  remote 
lines  of  route  in  Portugal  and  Spain  undergo  little 
change.  One  can  hardly  conjecture  in  a  region  like 
this  that  it  was  ever  anything  but  a  most  arduous 
road,  even  when  new  for  the  march  of  the  army  of 
Julius  Caesar,  its  supposed  founder,  or  when  repaired 
at  the  approach  of  an  Emperor,  a  Consul,  or  a  Legate. 
Bridges  still  visible,  and  now  and  then  a  military 
column,  coimting  the  miles  from  Braga,  do,  however, 
attest  that  it  was  a  great  and  wonderful  work,  worthy 
of  the  Napoleons  of  old :  and  it  is  possible  that  it 
may  have  been  in  later  times  kept  in  some  order  for 
pilgrims.  Smugglers,  the  only  constant  frequenters 
of  the  tract,  are  not  nice  in  such  matters. 

At  the  Portella  de  Homem,  near  Yillaiinho,  at  the 
north-eastern  comer  of  Tras  Os  Montes,  it  ceases  to 
traverse  Portuguese  ground,  and  is  continued  to 
Qrense,  Lugo,  &c.  It  may  be  traced,  we  are  told, 
into  France,  and  over  the  Alps,  and  all  the  way  to 
Biome !  {Quern  tern  boca  vai  a  Roma,  says  the  Portu- 
guese proverb, — "  He  who  has  a  tongue  may  find  his 
h3 


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154  RIVER  HOMEM. 

way  to  Rome/'  True ;  but  lie  would  hardly  find  it 
now  by  this  road^  I  suspect).  The  Roman  bridges 
over  the  Homem,  no  less  than  four  in  the  space  of 
half  a  league,  were  unluckily  destroyed  by  the 
borderers,  for  security,  rather  more  than  200years  ago, 
when  Portugal  shook  off  the  yoke  of  Spanish  usurpa- 
tion. The  little  river  Homem,  a  plaything  in  summer, 
but  in  winter  a  furious  torrent,  takes  its  name  from 
the  Lamas  de  Homem,  a  large  swampy  plain,  full  of 
springs,  on  the  summit  of  Ger&z.  Thence,  hurrying 
westward,  it  every  now  and  then  takes  a  plunge  into 
a  gulf,  runs  along  rocky  ravines;  comes  out  shining 
on  a  greensward,  receives  many  smaller  rills  from  both 
sides,  and,  dashing  noisily  through  Portella,  turns  to 
the  south,  where,  in  a  course  of  less  than  two  miles, 
it  takes  in  thirteen  tributaries,  and  thus  strengthened 
and  deepened,  twists  merrily  on  till  within  a  league 
of  Braga,  and  after  a  run  of  about  thirty  miles  firom 
its  rise,  it  is  lost  in  the  C^vado.  It  is  famed  for 
excellent  trout,  and  the  higher  you  go,  and  the 
colder  the  water,  the  better,  it  is  said,  is  the  fish. 

Not  far  from  the  Caldas  de  Oerez  is  the  reputed 
site  of  a  Roman  city,  Calcidonia,  on  the  top  of  a 
steep  hill,  where  a  rude  remnant  of  a  circular  wall. 


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CALCIDONIA.  156 

partly  formed  by  nature  and  partly  by  rougher 
masonry^  is  shown  as  the    residue  of  the  place. 
Within  it  are  huge^  confused  heaps  of  granite,  ob- 
viously of  the  same  family  as  those  that  lie  scattered 
on  the  outside  by  a  mightier  hand  than  man^s.     It 
is  Ukely  enough  to  have  been  an  inclosure  for  sheep 
and  shepherds.    It  is  impossible  that  it  was  ever, 
with  those  great  blocks  thus  inclosed,  the  inner  wall 
of  a  city,  or  even  the  outer  wall  of  a  castrum.    It 
may  have  been  a  retreat  of  refugees  from  the  invader 
in  days  of  yore.   At  Barzes,  a  prettily  situated  cluster 
of  huts  at  the  foot  of  the  hill,  Roman  tiles,  hewn 
stone,   coins,   and  other  indications  of   a   Roman 
locality,  have  been  found,  and  it  stands  on  the  old 
Geira  road.    This,  then,  is  the  more  probable  site  of 
the  city,  if  Calcidonia  were  ever  more  than  a  name  in 
these  parts,    ^is  warily  put  in ;  for  in  the  parish  of 
Cobide,  in  which  Barzes  and  the  hill  above  it  are 
included,  is  a  small  chapel,  to  which    belongs  a 
monkish  legend  that  throws  suspicion  on  the  very 
name  of  Calcidonia,  inasmuch  as  the  Romans  were 
not  in  the  habit  of  naming  their  new  cities  in  refer- 
ence to  the  names  of  the  mothers  of  Christians  whom 
they  martyred.     It  is  the  chapel  of  St.  Euphemia,  a 


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156  ST.  EUPHEMIA. 

native  of  Braga.  This  young  lady  was  one  of  the 
nine  holy  daughters  of  Caius  Attilius  and  his  wife 
Cakia.  On  the  rock  on  which  the  chapel  is  built,  a 
granite  rock,  are  marks  of  knees  and  of  the  points  of 
feet,  for  here  it  was  that  St.  Euphemia,  a  girl  of 
fifteen,  knelt  and  prayed  when  about  to  suffer 
martyrdom.  The  marks  have  remained  ever  since. 
The  ghost  of  the  young  Saint,  long  after  her  death, 
appeared  to  a  shepherdess  near  Calcidonia,  and 
pointed  out  to  her  the  place  where  her  body  had 
been  buried,  and  commanded  that  it  should  be  carried 
to  the  church  dedicated  to  her  sister  St.  Marinha, 
which  church  was  then,  and  is  still  the  parish  church 
of  Cobide.  Her  remains  were  accordingly  deposited 
there,  and  they  worked  such  miracles  that  all  Por- 
tugal and  all  Galicia  flocked  to  her  tomb,  till  a  Bishop 
of  Orense,  piously  jealous,  contrived  to  steal  the 
body,  and  buried  it  with  great  pomp  and  veneration 
in  his  cathedral,  where  it  now  rests.  Mr.  Ford's 
legend  is  not  so  circumstantial  as  this,  and  differs 
from  it  in  one  or  two  particulars.  But  this  is  a 
great  controversy.  Don  Roderick  da  Cunha,  Arch- 
bishop of  Braga  (in  his  History  of  the  See,  1st  Part) 
and  several  other  grave  authorities,  could  not  make 


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ST.  EUPHEMIA.  157 

up  their  minds  that  this  was  the  right  place^  not- 
withstanding what  St.  Euphemia  herself  had  told 
the  shepherdess.  On  the  other  hand^  tradition  and 
a  host  of  undeniable  witnesses  bom  ages  after  the 
death  of  the  martyr  contend  vigorously  for  the 
claims  of  the  parish  of  Cobide  against  aU  those 
doubters  and  cavillers,  and  denounce  the  memory  of 
the  body-snatching  Bishop  and  of  all  successive 
Bishops  of  Orense  who  have  sanctioned  and  profited 
by  the  theft.  On  this  side  also  was  another  Primate 
of  Braga,  Don  Roderick  de  Moura  TeUes,  who  surely 
ought  to  have  known,  for  in  the  month  of  August, 
1725,  he  actually  visited  the  chapel,  on  the  veiga  or 
holm  of  St.  Euphemia,  and  kissed  the  rock  several 
times,  and  then  personally  examined  and  verified  the 
knee-prints  and  foot-prints  in  presence  of  a  crowd  of 
clergy  and  laity.  Here,  then,  is  something  like  a 
decision  ex  cathedrd;  but  the  obstinate  Galidans 
would  not  accept  it,  and  they  never  restored  the 
reliques  to  the  injured  people  of  Entre  Douro  e 
Minho.  Bivabies  of  this  peculiar  kiad  have  been  so 
many  and  so  hot,  that  they  might  of  themselves, 
without  other  international  grievances,  account  for 
the  enmity  between  Portugal  and  Spaiu. 


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158  GEREZ. 

These  mountains,  says  Argote,  possess  many  claims 
to  admiration.  Whether  we  look  at  the  trees,  the 
plants,  and  the  flowers  that  they  produce,  or  at  the 
lakes,  the  rivers,  and  fountains  they  abound  in,  or  at 
the  wild  creatures,  bird  and  beast,  within  their  limits, 
we  find  that  Nature  has  gifted  them  not  only  with 
the  grand  features  of  highlands,  but  with  some  things 
peculiar  and  characteristic.  They  possess  animals 
totally  unknown,  as  well  as  wolves,  wild  boars,  and 
deer.  In  1728,  Francisco  Domingues,  accompanied 
by  two  hounds,  was  in  search  of  some  strayed  cattle. 
At  Cabril,  three  leagues  and  a  half  from  the  church 
of  San  Joao  do  Campo,  he  met  two  herdsmen  who 
were  on  a  similar  search,  over  hill  and  dale.  While 
they  were  conversing,  his  dogs  suddenly  gave  tongue 
and  rushed  furiously  into  a  thicket.  After  some 
time  they  came  out,  draggiug  a  quadruped  that  they 
had  killed,  but  of  a  species  which  none  of  the  men 
had  seen  before.  It  had  the  snout  of  a  boar,  was 
claw-footed,  and  of  the  size  of  a  sheep-dog.  The  skin 
was  handsome,  and  prettily  striped,  lengthwise, 
with  white  and  blue  lines. — There  is  also  in  these 
wilds  a  deer-like  sort  of  animal,  but  with  horns  like 
those  of  the  goat,  and  therefore  called  the  mountain 


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GEREZ.  159 

goat  by  the  shepherds.  It  has  a  keen  scent^  is  very 
alert^  and  remarkably  sagacious.  These  creatures 
are  gregarious,  and  when  pasturing  together  they 
have  always  a  sentinel  posted  above  them^  who  gives 
signal  by  bleating  at  any  approach  of  danger^  on 
which  they  disappear  in  a  moment.  The  hillsmen 
take  them  by  placing  over  the  edges  of  the  steepest 
rocks  large  light  planks,  with  a  bait  of  fresh  grass 
on  the  farther  end.  The  poor  animals  thus  allured 
are  precipitated  by  their  own  weight,  plank  and  all, 
and  so  are  killed  or  disabled.  (Link  calls  this  the 
Caucasian  goat.) 

Birds  of  prey  abound  here :  falcons,  hawks,  owls, 
and  many  other  kinds ;  and,  notably,  royal  eagles  of 
extraordinary  size,  for  some  have  been  killed  that 
measured  five  Flemish  eUs  (dnco  cdvados)  across 
the  wings  outspread.  Their  enormous  nests — 
usually  built  in  the  steepest  crags,  on  a  project- 
ing shelf,  and  under  a  cope  of  overhanging  rocks, 
and  therefore  inaccessible  by  climbing,— do  not 
always  escape  plunder.  The  peasants  make  their 
way  to  the  top  from  behind,  and  there  let  down  one 
of  their  hardy  comrades  in  a  basket,  so  as  to  enable 
him  to  take  the  young.     (This  is  the  well-known 


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160  GEREZ. 

methodof  robbing  eyries  and  sea-fowl  nests.  Argote 
says  nothing  of  a  battle  royal  with  the  parent  king 
and  queen  of  birds^  the  most  perilous  part  of  the 
enterprise.) 

The  dwellers  about  these  fells  aflBrm,  as  a  truth 
assured  by  vigilant  observations^  that  the  mother- 
eagle,  if  her  young  do  not  take  wing  before  the  23rd 
of  June,  the  eve  of  the  anniversary  of  St.  John  the 
Baptist,  always  compels  them  to  fly  on  that  day  (!) 
They  also  (with  more  reason)  deny  the  assertion  of 
Pliny  and  the  naturalists,  that  this  bird  places  the 
cetiles,  the  eagle-stone,  among  her  eggs,  to  prevent 
them  from  becoming  addled.  The  nests  have  offcen 
been  examined  with  great  care,  and  nothing  has  been 
found  among  the  sticks  and  rushes  they  are  made  of, 
except  rabbit-skins  and  other  such  remnants  of  spoil. 

Many  trees  not  yet  classified,  and  almost  every 
common  sort  of  forest  and  firuit-tree,  are  indigenous 
in  some  part  or  other  of  Grer^z.  The  multitude  and 
magnificence  of  the  evergreen-trees  is  remarkable; 
and  as  to  the  Flora  of  these  mountains,  no  hortua 
siccus  can  show  specimens  of  all  her  variety  of  wealth. 
I  do  not  venture  to  follow  Argote  any  farther,  for 
he  appears  somewhat  simple  and  unpractised  in  the 


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GEREZ.  161 

animal  and  vegetable  kingdom — somewhat  like 
Adam  in  Eden,  when  he  first  looked  upon  the  un- 
named things  around  him.  But  his  delight  seems 
as  sincere.  He  writes  as  if  his  heart  were  in  the 
mountains^  and  I  hke  him  the  better  for  that.  It 
is  pleasant  to  see  an  antiquary  alive  among  "the 
heights  and  hows^  and  braes  and  bums.'^ 

Link^  and  the  few  later  botanists  who  have  been 
here,  may  be  consulted  with  advantage. 

There  was  no  village  at  the  hot  springs  of  G^rez 
in  Argote^s  time.  The  springs  themselves  were  then 
(1738)  but  recently  discovered,  or  rather  recovered, 
for  there  are  hints  not  only  of  Moorish  but  of  Boman 
resort  here.  In  his  remarks  on  the  springs,  he 
suggests  the  possibility  of  establishing  a  sanatorium 
in  this  rugged  solitude.  So  Argote  may  be  termed 
the  Father  of  the  Caldas  de  Ger^z. 

Were  the  relative  height  of  mountains  to  deter- 
mine their  influence  on  the  mind,  those  of  Gerfez 
would  hold  a  subordinate  rank  among  Alpine  sub- 
limities. The  loftiest  of  the  range  is  less  than  4000 
feet  high — ^not  so  high  as  the  Righi  or  Ben  Nevis, 
not  higher,  perhaps,  than  Snowdon,  nor  much  superior 
to  ScawfeU,  Helvellyn  and  Skiddaw,  and  far  less 


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162  FROGS. 

elevated  than  the  Marao,  the  Estrella^  and  some 
other  Porti]^ese  Serras.  But  at  Oter&z,  as  at  Cintra^ 
it  is  by  the  peculiar  characteristics  rather  than  by 
the  vastness  and  elevation  of  the  range  that  we  are 
affected  with  admiration.  Many  a  mountain  of 
more  than  thrice  the  altitude  of  either  of  these^  is 
comparatively  barren  of  effect.  Without  consider- 
able height^  it  is  true^  there  can  be  no  mountain 
worthy  of  the  name ;  but  I  doubt  whether  an  ascent 
of  even  2000  or  8000  feet  only,  if  striking  by  its 
position,  noble  in  form  and  outline,  and  grand  in 
features  of  wood,  water  and  rock,  may  not,  in  all  its 
combinations  and  contrasts,  produce  as  fiiU  a  sense 
of  Alpine  sublimity  as  any  Alps  or  Andes  that  ever 
awed  the  heart  of  man. 

JUNB  6th. 

^^  There  is  but  one  step,^'  said  the  modem  pioneer 
of  the  Alps,  "from  the  sublime  to  the  ridiculous.^* 
The  croaking  of  the  frogs  all  night  made  it  impos- 
sible for  us  to  sleep.  I  suppose  these  creatures  give 
up  possession  of  the  Caldas  village  when  the  bathers 
come.  K  not,  how  can  the  hapless  invalids  derive 
benefit  from  hot  baths,  unless  deafness  be  part  of  the 
complaint  ?    And  then,  if  the  waters  should  cure  the 


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MULE  IN  A  PANIC.  163 

deafness^  one  night's  concert  of  frogs  would^  I  think, 
make  the  patient  wish  himself  deaf  again. 

We  were  np  before  daylight,  and  resumed  onr  ride 
about  sunrise,  but  were  long  covered  from  the  sun 
by  the  mountains. 

A  little  adventure  occurred  just  after  we  had 
started.  The  mule,  who  is  a  lady  of  capricious  dis- 
position, and  sometimes  a  downright  termagant, 
shocking  our  ears  with  her  horrible  bray,  and  laying 
about  with  her  heels  in  a  most  unladylike  fashion, 
took  one  of  her  wicked  fits  as  soon  as  she  came  to  a 
bad  place.  She  pretended  to  be  frightened  at  an  old 
woman,  started  aside  with  one  resolute  plunge,  dis- 
lodged from  her  back  the  muleman  (who  had  again 
been  permitted  to  mount),  and  nearly  deposited  the 
man,  the  luggage  and  herself,  in  the  bed  of  the  river 
that  foamed  deep  below  under  a  precipice.  She 
scrambled  up  again  however;  the  arriero  had  fallen  on 
his  head  and  was  uninjured,  and  Mr.  H —  remained 
near  him,  while  he  and  Grenho  readjusted  the  cargo, 
and  expostulated  with  the  mule.  We  met  two 
peasant-sportsmen  with  rifles,  going,  they  said,  to 
shoot  deer  on  Gerfez — another,  who  told  us  he  was 
going  to  shoot  wild  goats.    Wolves  are  said  to  abound 


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164  ROAD  TO  SALAMONDE. 

in  thifl  neigliboTirliood.    Mr. and  J and  I 

rode  on  througli  Villar  da  Veiga  and  the  other  vil- 
lages which  we  passed  yesterday,  now  and  then 
leaving  the  road  to  hunt  for  prospects,  often  with 
success,  tin  we  arrived  at  the  place  where  we  yester- 
day left  the  Salamonde  road;  but  wishing  to  see 
D.^8  Station  again,  we  rode  on  towards  Braga  for 
above  half  or  three  quarters  of  a  mile  further.  Having 
then  visited  the  station,  we  returned  and  took  the 
way  to  Salamonde.  We  had  now  the  Serra  de 
Grerez  again  in  fiwse :  majestic  in  every  point  of  view, 
but  so  scarred  and  rent  and  bare  of  soil,  as  to  look 
hke  mountain  majesty  in  rags,  but  without  the  least 
loss  of  dignity;  it  wore  its  guise  of  poverty  so  greatly- 
The  road,  a  good  one,  and  pleasant  maugre  the  heat, 
was  high  on  the  side  of  a  green  sylvan  mountain, 
through  several  villages,  and  through  noble  groves, 
woods  of  chestnut-trees,  whose  hearts  were  grey  and 
broken  and  hollow  with  extreme  old  age,  while  their 
massive,  leafy  heads  were  as  green  and  fruitful  as 
youth.  On  our  left  was  the  Cdvado  and  its  valley, 
and  the  Gterfez,  which  now  showed  still  loftier  peaks 
than  we  had  seen  yesterday.  All  the  last  league 
(say  four  leagues)  to  Salamonde  opens  out  prospects 


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SALAMONDE.  165 

wonderfolly  fine.  About  mid-day  we  arrived  at 
Salamonde^  a  village  on  the  mountain  border  of  this 
province,  Ruivaens  being  in  the  Tras  os  Montes, 

Mr.  H (sleepy,  dreamy,  dumby  and  blindy,  as 

we  often  jestingly  call  him),  who  had  kindly  remained 
with  the  servants  and  mule  to  superintend  their 
movements,  performed  capital  service  to-day,  and 
quite  redeemed  his  character ;  for,  knowing  that  we 
must  have  advantage  of  time  over  him,  he  struck  up 
by  a  short  cut,  mule  and  aU,  though  with  difl&culty, 
and  got  into  the  viQage  long  enough  before  us  to 
make  some  preparations  at  the  inn. — The  first  thing 
we  did  was  to  send  for  the  schoolmaster  and  an  old 
woman,  to  each  of  whom  we  had  to  deliver  a  message 
and  a  parcel  from  Oporto.  This  commission  exe- 
cuted, our  gentlemen  set  about  arrangements  for 
dinner,  resolved  to  have  a  feast ;  but  first,  the  ladies' 
hammocks  were  slung  in  one  of  the  rooms,  that  we 
might  rest  before  dinner,  as  usual.  Having  brought 
fowls,  we  had  the  potaffe,  which  the  Portuguese  call 
Calda  de  Galinha;  two  tender  fowls  {rare),  one  boiled, 
one  roasted — ^both  hot ;  a  cold  Melga90  ham;  roast 
beef  out  of  one  of  our  tin-cases  of  preserved  meat, 
which  proved  excellent  when  heated;  good  bread, 


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166  SOULT'S  PASS. 

and  clean  salt :  we  had  also  a  bottle  of  Scotch  ale 
and  a  bottle  of  Champagne — ^all  of  which  things  we 
brought  with  us, — the  latter  from  our  friend  at  Bar- 
cellos  ;  and  we  did  fare  sumptuously.  Nothing  like 
mountain  air  to  make  bad  fare  good,  and  good  fare 
exquisite. 

But  thoi^h  thus  brought  down  by  toil  and  hunger 
to  such  kitchen  and  cellar  joys,  we  had  not  foi^otten 
that  we  had  objects  of  more  interest  to  look  after, 
and  our  having  dined  well  in  no  degree  blunted  the 
edge  of  appetite  for  those.  So  when  the  heat  of  the 
di^  began  to  slacken,  we  got  again  on  horseback, 
taking  no  servant,  and  we  went  eagerly  in  quest  of 
the  bridges  by  which  Soult  retreated,  as  described 
with  interest  ahnost  romantic  by  Southey,  Napier, 
the  Frenchman  Noble,  &c.,  &c.  From  none  of  these, 
but  from  a  friend  who  has  been  here  before,  and  who 
is  now  riding  at  my  side,  I  take  the  description  of 
this  famous  pass : — *^  The  road  from  Salamonde, 
which  place  stands  high  on  the  Serra  de  Yiana, 
though  sheltered,  is  at  first  partly  cut  through  sand- 
stone, which  banks  it  on  both  sides ;  then  it  opens  out 
over  a  space  purple  with  heather  and  green  with  ilex 
and  fern,  arborescent  heather,  tall  fern,  and  gum- 


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SOULT'S  PASS.  167 

cistus^  Sec.,  an  open  view  for  some  distance  all  round : 
with  here  and  there  steep  and  deep  ravines  and 
guUies;  some  of  these  pits  filled  with  woods  of  ilex^ 
&c.  Then  the  road  becomes  steeply  tortuous,  down 
towards  the  Cdvado  that  flows  between  this  Serra  de 
Viana  and  the  grander  and  more  rugged  Serra  de 
Gter^z  :  the  way  thus  drops  crookedly  through  wild» 
of  tall  heather,  intermingled  with  dwarf-oak,  going 
sheer  down  in  places  as  if  much  ploughed  by  torrents, 
but  not  difficult  of  descent  with  such  sure-footed 
horses  as  ours  had  proved  to  be.  Presently  the 
bridge  of  Ponte  Nova,  the  Saltador,  is  seen  deep 
below  you  through  a  grove  of  olive-trees,  under 
which  tall  ferns,  &c.  grow  luxuriantly — a  scene 
altogether  wild  and  pleasant  to  travellers  at  their 
ease  like  ourselves.  The  Bio  de  Buivaens,  that 
flows  under  the  Saltador  (or  Ponte  Nova)  is  a  mere 
shallow  brawling  brook,  in  dry  weather,  tumbling 
along  noisily  over  a  channel  of  smooth  stones,  and 
between  large  blocks  of  grey  and  white  granite, 
the  upper  parts  of  which  are  tinged  with  lichens. 
The  views  from  its  borders  upon  both  sides  have 
a  wild  richness  j  on  the  left  are  castle-like  crags, 
with  a  foregroimd  of  luUs  and  slopes,  verdant  with 


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168  SOULT»S  PASS, 

ilex  and  rough  with  stones  and  gorse^  &c. ;  on  the 
right  are  rude  hills^  where  oaks  grow  among  smooth 
stones  and  rugged  rocks.  The  banks  of  this  torrent- 
stream^  the  Bio  de  Buivaens^  which  joins  the  C&vado 
a  little  below  the  Ponte  Nova,  are  margined  with 
yellow-flowering  broom,  ilex,  heather,  gum-dstus, 
and  other  plants:  the  water  is  white  and  trans* 
parent ;  and  a  mere  toy  for  an  angler  just  now.  How 
different  was  it  on  that  dismal  night  of  storm  and 
rain,  when  Soult  and  his  thousands  were  hurrying 
over  it,  while  the  floods  were  out,  and — 

"  The  angry  spirit  of  the  water  shrieked  ! " — 

the  English  cannon  (though  but  one  gun  was  up, 
the  echoes  must  have  made  it  seem  twenty)  thunder- 
ing upon  them,  and  ploughing  into  their  serried 
masses  I  The  bridge  (Ponte  Nova)  is  one-arched, 
and  of  solid  stone ;  the  arch  is  by  no  means  lofty, 
and  there  is  nothing  in  its  appearance  to  account 
for  its  name  of  Saltador,  the  Leaper ;  so  no  wonder 
that  Colonel  Napier  and  others  have  made  a  mis- 
take in  transferring  this  name  to  another  bridge, 
the  Miserella,  to  which  we  shall  come  presently. 
Having  proceeded  along  the  left  bank  of  the  Bio 
de   Buivaens,    up-stream,  we  crossed    the    bridge. 


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SOULT'S  PASS.  169 

turned  sharp  to  the  left,  down  stream  on  the 
right  bank,  and  then  the  road,  leaving  this  stream, 
wound  off  to  the  right,  up  the  left  bank  of  the 
C&vado,  which  was  here  and  there  whitened  with 
natural  water-breaks.  The  road  was  here  good  and 
level,  of  fair  white  sandstone,  and  its  breadth  might 
vary  from  four  to  six  feet :  it  led  us  through  a  grove 
of  oaks  and  old  chestnuts,  then  over  a  stone  cause- 
way, and  little  bridge  that  spans  a  winter-torrent 
course,  now  dry.  To  the  left,  wherever  we  wound, 
the  rocky  mountains  of  the  opposite  side  of  the  river 
on  the  right  bank  faced  us  closely ;  to  the  right  we 
were  always  greeted  by  the  richer  mountains  of  the 
left  bank.  So  the  road  winds  along;  now  again  a 
steep  slope,  after  having  been  level  for  awhile,  again 
through  a  grove  of  chestnuts,  and  again  over  a  tor- 
rent-course, bridged  with  rough  stones,  and  shortly 
afterwards  another,  where  the  road  roughens.  The 
herbage  of  the  hills  now  becomes  more  scanty,  and 
the  way  more  stony,  till  on  the  left  is  a  picturesque 
waterfall  of  which  the  accompaniments  are  both  strik- 
ing and  pleasing ;  for  above  the  rocky  chasm  from 
which  it  flows  is  a  bold  embattled  crag,  so  exactly 
like  a  fortress  that  the  delusion  was  complete  for  a 

VOL.  I.  I 


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170  SOULT'S  PASS. 

minute :  the  water  faUs  behind^  and  as  it  were  into,  a 
little  steep  wood,  in  which  it  is  lost ;  and  on  the  lower 
skirt  of  this  wood  hang  some  fresh  little  pastures* 
Beyond,  the  vaUey  expands,  and  the  y'erdure  becomes 
richer;  olive  trees,  oaks  supporting  vines,  and  even 
fields  of  maize,  appear  in  gay  relief  to  the  severe 
back  ground  of  rough  peaks.  Here,  I  think,  we  lose 
the  Cavado,  Leaving  it  on  our  left,  and  turning  to 
the  right  up  the  left  bank  of  the  Rio  de  Venda 
Nova,  another  stream,  which  joins  the  C&vado  a 
short  distance  behind  us,  we  proceed  through  the 
village  of  Os  Frades  do  Pinheiro  (where  there  is  no 
pine  tree,  but  a  fine  grand  chestnut  tree,  of  great 
girth)  up  and  down  a  winding,  narrow,  and  rough 
road,  which  twists  through  masses  of  great  rocks,  as 
the  stream  itself  does,  till  we  reach  the  lofty  bridge 
of  the  Miserella,  whose  one  tail  arch  does  indeed  leap 
boldly  across  the  roaring  water,  and  might  therefore 
well  be  mistaken  for  the  Saltador.  The  power  of 
this  torrent  when  swollen  is  attested  by  the  enor- 
mous piles  of  granite  that  are  worn  and  drilled  into 
holes  and  cavities,  and  into  all  sorts  of  shapes,  and 
about  which,  even  in  this  calm  and  dry  weather, 
it  foams  and  rattles,  and  plunges  as  a  waterfall  just 


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I 


SOULT'S  PASS.  171 

above  the  bridge.  The  view  up  and  down,  and  on 
every  side  from  the  bridge  of  Miserella,  is  rocky  and 
savage;  but  not  without  the  grace  of  evergreen 
oaks  and  cork  trees,  which  do  not  at  all  detract  from 
the  wildness  of  the  scene.  This  track  is  little  known, 
except  to  the  Almocr4ves  of  Montal^gre,  Chaves,  and 
the  Spanish  frontier,  and  to  the  Contrabandistas  of 
the  border,  to  whom  it  is  familiar,  and  one  of  whom 
was  the  guide  and  saver  of  Soult's  army.  The 
minuteness,  therefore,  and  perhaps  tediousness  of  the 
description  may  on  both  those  accoimts  be  tolerated. 
To  old  Peninsular  campaigners  this  'pass  of  peril'  has 
always  been  of  peculiar  interest  since  that  fearfrQ 
night  when  Soult  and  his  battalions  crushed  through 
it,  so  soon  after  their  ruthless  triumph  at  Oporto.^' 

The  sun  had  set  before  we  left  the  bridge  of  Mise- 
rella,  yet  we  were  not  in  darkness;  for  not  only 
were  there  visible  stars,  but  to  J 's  great  satis- 
faction, as  she  first  observed  it,  there  was  a  thin 
crescent  moon,  with  its  circle  completed  by  a  dark 
ring,  reminding  us  of  "the  fine  old  ballad  of  Sir 
Patrick  Spence^'— 

^  Yestreen  I  saw  the  old  moon 
With  the  young  moon  in  her  arms." 

l2 


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172  HAMMOCK  UNSHIPPED. 

We  arrived  late  at  Salamonde,  but  without  haying 
lost  our  way;  for  in  going  we  had  made  accurate 
observations^  without  which^  in  that  doubtful  light, 
we  might  have  been  puzzled  on  our  return  by  the 
many  divergent  paths.  We  supped  on  a  soup  which 
the  gentlemen  pronounced  worthy  of  Les  Trots  Freres 
Provenqatuv,  though  it  came  out  of  one  of  our  tin 
cases,  where  it  had  been  for  two  or  three  years,  and 
it  only  required  fire  for  a  few  minutes.      As  Mr. 

H had  the  previous  night,  at  Gerfez,  slept  upon 

a  bare  table,  Mr. thought  it  but  fair  this  night 

to  ofiFer  him  the  third  hammock,  which  he  also  had 
only  used  once  (at  Gerfez).  Mr. therefore  com- 
mitted himself  to  the  mercy  of  one  of  two  very  dubi- 
ous-looking beds ;  for  this  inn  of  Salamonde  was  not 
a  cleanly  house,  though  the  old  host  and  his  respect- 
able-looking old  wife  and  two  daughters  were  very 

civil  persons,  to  m  at  least.     Mr. had  not  been 

long  in  bed  before  he  became  aware  that  he  was  self- 
sacrificed  to  the  little  black  skipping  demon  whose 

name  is  Legion.    Mr.  H blundered  about  for 

two  hours  before  he  could  fix  his  hammock  :  at  last 

he  got  into  it;  and  having  done  so,  as  Mr.  

informs    us,  ,with    an-oh-how-comfortable    sort   of 


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MULE-BELL  LULLABY.  173 

flounce^  he  resigned  himself  for  some  moments  to 
the  '^soher  certainty  of  waking  bliss/^  preparatory 
to  the  sleeping  bliss  in  which  his  fancy  revelled; 
then  his  contented  *^  Good  night ''  gave  notice  that 
he  was  about  to  drink  deep  of  the  luxury  of  rest.  So 
he  gave  himself  one  last  comfortable  turn^  and  the 
hammock  one  good  swing,  and  down  came  he  and 
the  hammock^  hooks  and  all^  and  brought  him  to  the 
floor,  where  he  lay  struggling  and  chafing  in  the  dark 
for  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  head  and  feet  entangled  in 
the  meshes  of  the  hammock-net,  before  he  could  rise 
and  grope  his  way  to  the  vacant  mattress.  The 
iapage  was  so  great,  that  we,  in  an  adjoining  room, 
were  for  a  moment  alarmed,  but  the  roars  of  laughter 

from  Mr. soon  re-assured  us ;  and  I  do  believe 

he  laughed  aU  night  at  his  friend^s  disaster.     J 

soon  was  asleep,  in  spite  of  the  noise ;  and  after  last 
night^s  wakefulness,  I  would  gladly  have  slept  too, 
but  I  again  found  it  impossible.  There  was  an  in- 
cessant jingling  of  mule-bells  in  the  stable  right 
under  us,  which  was  unfortunately  ftdl  of  cargo- 
mules  ;  this  inn  being  a  resting-place  for  the  almo- 
creves  (mule-drivers  or  carriers)  on  their  way  to  and 
from  Montalegre,  Chaves,  the  Spanish  frontier,  &c. 


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174  LANDLORD  LOCKED  OUT. 

The  mules^  which  are  never  allowed  to  lie  down^  but 
are  always  tied  up  shorty  have  for  their  night-caps 
the  same  bell-gear  which  they  wear  by  day ;  so  that^ 
whether  they  are  munching  their  milho  and  straw^  or 
nid^  nid^  nodding  as  they  stand  asleep^  it  is  one  per- 
petual motion  of  sound — jingle,  jingle — ^from  nume* 
rous  little  brass  bells.  The  almocrSves  have  the  odd 
notion — or  perhaps  they  pretend,  to  avoid  the  trouble 
of  grooming  their  beasts — ^that  the  bells  both  cheer 
and  lull  the  mules,  and  that  they  would  neither  work 
nor  sleep  without  them — just  as  the  carters  profess 
that  the  oxen  would  not  draw  well  if  the  revolving 
axles  of  their  cart-wheels  were  greased.  In  that  ears- 
excruciating  wheel-music,  however,  there  is  one  ad- 
vantage :  it  warns  the  far-off  rider  or  driver  that  a 
cart  is  coming,  in  the  narrow  and  intricate  lanes  of 
Portugal,  where  there  may  be  neither  room  to  pass 
nor  turn.  An  English  surveyor  would  say,  '  Widen 
your  lanes,  grease  your  wheels,  and  have  mercy  on 
your  beasts.'  But,  oh  frogs  of  QerSz  I  and  oh,  mule- 
bells  of  Salamonde !  "  Oh,  to  forget  you,  thrilling 
through  my  head  I  '^ 

Another  incident  may  be  mentioned  among  the 
humours  of  the  night,  though  we  were  but  indirectly 


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I 


POVOA  DE  LANHOSO.  175 

•concerned  in  it.  We  ladies  had,  by  the  recommend- 
ation of  the  old  host's  two  danghters,  locked  the  pas- 
sage-door, which,  as  we  imderstood,  shut  in  no  room 
but  oiir  own.  But  through  that  passage,  it  seems, 
the  elders  of  the  family  should  have  passed  to  their 
room.  The  old  people,  therefore,  could  not  get  to 
bed,  and  they  sat  up  in  th6  kitchen;  for  the  old 
landlord  was  too  polite  to  let  us  be  disturbed,  though 
he  was  impolite  enough  to  permit  himself  to  beat  his 
respectable  old  wife  for  an  accident  which  was  in  no 
way  her  fault.  This  ungracious  fact  was  reported  to 
us  next  day  by  our  man  Grenho. 

June  7th. 

Our  host  made  out  a  heavy  bill  for  us  in  the  morn- 
ing, to  indemnify  himself,  I  suppose,  for  having  been 
excluded  from  his  chamber.  We  did  not  demur  to 
the  payment,  though  we  had  reaUy  had  next  to 
nothing  but  what  was  our  own.  We  set  off  again 
at  day-break,  and  reversed  the  ride  of  yesterday, 
as  far  as  the  turn-off  of  the  Geira  road ;  then  we 

bore  to  the  left  (revisiting  D 's  favoured  station) 

through  Posadouros,  Igreja  Nova,  and  Val  de  Luz, 
as  on  the  5th,  only  retracing  our  way,  till,  from  the 
latter  place,  we  went  to  the  left  again,  on  to  Povoa  de 


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176  HENRY,  COUNT  OF  PORTUGAL. 

Jjanhoso^  where  we  halted  all  through  the  heat  of  the 
day.  Though  in  getting  to  this  place  we  passed  over 
a  fine  bold  country^  everything  appeared  tame  after 
Gerfez;  everything  but  that  bluff  crag  already  alluded 
to,  of  Our  Lord  of  the  Pillar.  We  rode  for  some 
time  over  an  open  heath  before  we  reached  Lanhoso, 
which  is  a  very  pretty  place^  standing,  as  Braga  does, 
in  the  centre  of  a  rich  undulating  plain,  and  having, 
like  Braga,  its  Holy  Hill  near,  and  its  circuit  of 
mountain-barrier  complete  in  the  distance. 

After  dinner  at  the  quiet  and  comfortable  inn,  we 
sent  the  mule  and  arriero,  who  was  already  half  tipsy, 
forward  to  Guimaraens,  while  we  rode  first  to  the  hill, 
about  a  mile  off,  and  up  the  hill,  (a  quarter  of  a  mile 
steep),  whereon  stands  the  church  of  Nosso  Senhor  do 
Pilar,  with  oratories  from  bottom  to  top,  enclosing 
figures  descriptive  of  Our  Lord^s  passion,  as  at  "N.  S. 
do  Bom  Jesus,^'  of  which  mount,  indeed,  this,  though 
steeper^  seems  an  imitation  both  by  nature  and  by 
art,  on  a  reduced  scale — except  the  old  castle,  or, 
rather,  the  only  remaining  tower  of  the  castle,  in 
which  Affonso  Henriques  is  said  to  have  imprisoned 
his  mother.  Ambition  has  no  relations. — ^Affonso 
Henriques,  it  will  be  remembered,  was  the  first  king 


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THERESA,  COUNTESS  OF  PORTUGAL.  177 

of  Portugal,  the  son  of  that  Count  Henry  by  whom 
in  fact  the  monarchy  was  founded,  and  by  whom  the 
primary  lines  of  Portuguese  nationality  may  be  said 
to  have  been  drawn.  Camoens  calls  Count  Henry  a 
Hungarian  prince ;  but,  according  to  the  Art  de  veri- 
fier les  Dates,  and  other  older  and  yet  more  important 
authorities,  it  appears  that  he  was  a  prince  of  Bur- 
gundy. He  came  into  Spain,  a  chivalrous  adven- 
turer, to  assist  the  king  of  Leon,  Alfonso  VI.,  against 
the  infidels,  and  he  was  rewarded  with  the  hand  of 
that  king's  illegitimate  daughter,  Theresa,  and  with 
the  earlship  or  seignory  of  Portugal,  which  he  finally 
succeeded  in  not  only  delivering  to  a  certain  extent 
from  the  Moors,  but  also  in  disengaging  from  fealty 
to  the  throne  of  his  benefactor ;  for  the  father-in-law 
had  conferred  the  lordship  on  him,  not  as  a  dowry, 
but  as  a  fief.  Count  Henry's  eventful  life  is  ably 
sketched  by  Senhor  Herculano,  in  the  first  book  of 
his  History  of  Portugal.  At  the  Count's  death,  his 
widow  assumed  the  power,  their  son  being  but  two 
or  three  years  old.  Theresa  was  as  ambitious  as  her 
deceased  lord,  and  in  no  hurry  to  resign  her  autho- 
rity, which,  indeed,  she  claimed  as  her  own  right  by 
the  grant  of  her  father.  The  son,  when  about  seven- 
I  3 


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178  THE  BIVAL  CROSI£RS. 

teen  years  of  age^  levied  war  against  the  mother^  and 
having  made  her  prisoner^  shut  her  up  for  a  while  in 
this  castle. 

Theresa,  celebrated  for  '^angelic  beauty/'  ruled, 
in  £em^  reigned,  and  was  even  called  queen,  for 
fourteen  years;  and  the  story  of  her  hfe,  after 
she  lost  her  first  husband,  is  one  of  the  most  dra- 
matic that  can  be  found, — coloured  all  through, 
as  it  is,  with  her  variable  fortunes,  with  her  love 
as  constant  as  her  hatred,  with  her  energy,  bravery, 
and  weakness.  Gelmir^s,  the  first  and  famous 
archbishop  of  Santiago,  figures  in  the  scene  like 
an  arch-demon ;  dark,  able,  daring,  subtle,  and 
tortuous, — the  tyrant  of  Oalicia, — the  dread  of 
his  own  sovereign,  Urraca,  queen  of  Leon, — ^the 
secret  ally  of  her  sister  Theresa, — ^the  counsellor 
to  both  sisters,  and  traitor  to  both.  To  this  great 
bad  man,  and  consummate  courtly  hypocrite,  his 
foe  and  rival,  the  rough,  sturdy  Don  Pelagius,  arch- 
bishop of  Braga,  stands  opposed  in  bold  relief; 
while  the  ambition  of  temporal,  under  the  guise  of 
spiritual,  domination,  is  the  fever  that  equally  pos- 
sesses those  primates.  Among  other  actors  in  this 
wild  drama  are,  the  king  of  Arragon  (Alfonso  the 


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FERDINAND  PERES.  179 

Battler,  El  Lidudor^  second  husband  of  the  fickle 
Urraca) ;  Ferdinand  Peres,  the  Galician  caralier,  who 
in  camps  and  perils  won  the  heart  ofTheresa,  a  heart 
true  to  him  through  all  *' disastrous  chances/^  till  it 
ceased  to  beat^  and  lastly,  her  son  and  enemy,  AfiFonso 
Henriques ;  for  it  was  the  fate  of  both  sisters  to  faU 
by  the  persevering  animosity  of  their  own  sons. 
Towards  the  due  understanding  of  the  condition  of 
young  Portugal  and  the  north  of  Spain  at  this  per- 
plexed crisis  of  broils  and  intrigues,  it  is  not  alone  the 
Latin  ^^  History  of  Compostella^'  that  must  be  con- 
sulted. That  account  was  drawn  up  at  the  request  of 
Gelmir^s,  by  two  of  his  personal  friends  and  partisans; 
it  is  his  vindication  and  panegyric;  and,  however  valu- 
able in  many  respects,  it  is  especially  open  to  suspicion 
in  all  that  relates  to  the  motives  of  that  ^'  sacerdotal 
Mephistopheles.^'  '*The  Chronicle  of  the  Goths,'' 
and  other  contemporary  writings,  should  be  also 
studied.  Up  to  every  accessible  source  of  remote 
authority  Senhor  Herculano  has  diligently  worked 
his  way  in  search  of  facts,  and  he  has  given  a  mas- 
terly, and,  considering  the  difficulties,  a  remarkably 
dear  summary  of  those  struggles  in  camp,  court,  and 
curia.    A  long  note,  however,  in  which  he  labours  to 


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180  AFFONSO  HENKIQUES. 

prove  that  the  fair  Theresa  was  not  married  to  her 
Galician  count,  is  not  so  satisfactory.  He  accuses 
those  who  have  held  a  contrary  opinion  of  "  throwing 
camphor  on  a  corse  \"  But  another  of  his  metaphors 
in  the  same  note  is  in  still  worse  taste.  '^  We  must 
not,'^  he  says,  deprecating  the  folly  habitual  to  his 
countrymen^  of  exaggerating  the  prowess  and  refining 
the  manners  of  their  heroes  of  a  barbarous  age,  "we 
must  not  awake  our  ancestors  from  their  sleep  of 
deaths  to  strip  them  of  their  armour  and  their  coats 
of  &ieze^  and  re -clothe  them  in  courtly  velvety  nor  in 
fine  broad  cloth,  nor  in  woollens  and  cottons  from 
English  steam-looms"  Oh,  the  perfidious  cottons  of 
England !  But  Senhor  Herculano^s  small  spite 
against  Great  Britain  on  every  occasion  where  he 
has  to  mention  England  or  the  English^  peeps  out 
as  perceptibly  as  it  does  here,  where  they  and  their 
envied  manufactories  have  nothing  to  do  with  the 
subject.  Such  amiable  little  ebullitions  are  harm- 
less and  simply  ridiculous  in  a  periodical  miscellany 
like  the  "Lisbon  Panorama,^'  already  extinct ;  but 
in  a  grave  history  they  betray  in  the  historian  a 
spirit  that  may  prove  fatal  to  the  character  of  his 
work. 


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AFFONSO  HENRIQUES.  181 

Another  chronicler,  of  far  less  authenticity  than 
Senhor  Herculano  and  than  most  of  his  carefully- 
chosen  authorities,  gives  a  very  curious  report  of 
Theresa^s  overthrow  and  imprisonment,  and  of  the 
vagaries  attributed  to  her  son  Affonso  Henriques. 
It  is  not  to  be  found  in  Herculano's  volume,  and  is 
properly  excluded  from  it,  for  the  absurdities  of  seve- 
ral of  the  particulars  refute  themselves.  Yet,  as 
Affonso  Henriques  is  in  some  sort  the  Alfred  of 
Portugal,  I  am  tempted  to  quote  that  curious  old 
chronicler.  The  account  is  not  without  its  value  in 
traits  of  manners,  and  of  popular  credulity,  and  a 
certain  chivalry  of  sentiment. 

''Near  Guimaraes,  in  a  place  called  Samremdanha, 
the  armies  stood  in  battle-array.  Theresa  said  to 
her  husband,'^  (Don  Ferdinand  Peres  is  here  meant), 
'' '  You  are  stronger  than  my  son.  Make  him  pri- 
soner.^— ^A  battle  ensued,  in  which  Affonso  was 
worsted,  and,  being  on  the  retreat,  he  met,  at  a 
league  from  Guimaraes,  his  tutor  or  guardian,  Don 
Egas  Moniz,  who  encouraged  him  to  rally  his  men 
and  face  the  enemy  once  more*  He  did  so,  and 
gained  a  victory  over  his  stepfather,  and  secured  the 
person  of  his  mother,  whom  he  incarcerated  in  the 


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182  A  MOTHER'S  MALISON. 

castle  of  Lanhozo^' — (a  fortress  of  ill  omen  to  her, 
for  she  had  formerly  been  besieged  here  by  her  sister 
Urraca) — ''it  is  even  affirmed  that  he  put  her  in 
irons.  Theresa^  addressing  her  son  through  the  bars 
of  her  prison  window  as  he  passed,  said : — '  May 
iron  break  your  hmbs,  and  may  you  become  a  pri- 
soner/ ^^ — (Hence  the  place  of  her  confinement  is  to 
this  day  called  '  The  Tower  of  Malediction/)  *'  The 
Pope,  hearing  that  the  Prince  kept  his  mother  in 
chains^  ordered  the  Bishop  of  Coimbra  to  enjoin  him 
to  release  her,  under  pain  of  excommunication.  The 
Prince  answered  that  he  would  not  release  her  for 
the  Pope  or  any  one  else.  Thereupon  the  Bishop 
retired,  and  excommunicated  him  that  same  night. 

"  The  next  morning,  on  being  informed  that  he  was 
excommunicated,  the  Prince  assembled  the  canons 
in  the  chapter-house,  and  said, — '  From  among  you 
all,  choose  nie  a  bishop/  They  answered,  'Sir, 
we  have  already  one  bishop,  and  cannot  elect  an- 
other/ The  Prince  rejoined,  '  Not  one  of  you  who 
answer  thus  shall  be  a  bishop  in  my  time ;  but  get 
you  gone,  and  I  will  find  a  bishop/  And,  looking 
about  him,  he  espied  a  black  man,  and  beckoned 
him  to  approach.    '  What  is  your  name  ?  ^    '  Sir,  my 


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THE  BLACK  BISHOP.  183 

name  is  Solleima/  replied  the  black.  ^  Are  you  a 
true  believer?'  ^Sir,  there  are  not  two  more  true 
beUevers  than  myself  in  all  this  company/  ^  You 
shall  be  their  bishop/  declared  the  Prince,  'on  con- 
dition that  you  say  mass  for  me,'  Bat  the  negro 
objected : — '  I  cannot  say  mass.  Sir,  for  I  am  not  a 
priest/  'I  ordain  you;  now  say  mass  for  me,  or 
I  wiQ  cut  your  head  off/  The  terrified  blackamoor 
obeyed,  and  said  mass* 

''  The  Pope,  being  informed  of  this  proceeding, 
concluded  that  the  Prince  must  be  a  heretic,  and 
therefore  deputed  a  cardinal  to  teach  him  the  Faith. 
The  Cardinal,  on  his  progress  through  Spain,  was 
everywhere  received  with  much  honour,  and  the 
people  kissed  his  hand.  But  the  Prince  observed, 
'There  is  not  a  cardinal  nor  clerk  of  any  degree 
whose  arm  shall  not  be  shortened  by  a  foot  if  he 
offers  me  his  hand  to  kiss/  The  Cardinal  arrived 
at  Coimbra,  and  felt  alarmed.  The  Prince  would  not 
go  to  welcome  him ;  so  the  Cardinal,  though  with  no 
good-will,  presented  himself  at  the  palace-gate.  The 
Prince  received  him  honourably,  and  said,  'Don 
Cardinal,  for  what  purpose  are  you  here  ?  I  never 
could  clearly  see  what  rewards  were  intended  for  me 


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184  THE  CARDINAL. 

from  Rome  for  these  crusades  that  I  maintain  against 
the  Moors,  warring,  upon  the  Infidels  day  and  night. 
If  you  have  brought  me  any  treasures,  produce  them : 
if  not,  Don  Cardinal,  go  your  way.'  The  Cardinal 
replied,  '  I  am  come  hither  to  instruct  you  in  the 
faith  of  Christ.'  'Oh,'  said  the  Prince,  'we  have 
as  good  books  here  as  you  have  in  Borne,  and  we 
know  as  well  as  you  the  Articles  of  Faith,  and  we 
believe  in  the  Trinity  as  much  as  you  Romans :  and, 
Don  Cardinal,  we  require  none  of  your  lectures  from 
Rome  just  now.  But  my  people  shall  attend  to  your 
wants,  and  to-morrow  we  will  see  each  other  again, 
if  it  so  please  God.' 

"The  Cardinal  retired  to  his  inn,  and  ordered  barley 
for  his  mules,  and  at  cock-crow  [quando  cantava  o 
gallo)  he  excommunicated  all  the  town  and  country, 
and  departed.  The  Prince  was  no  sooner  apprised  of 
this  af&ont  than  he  pursued  His  Eminence,  and 
having  overtaken  him  at  Vimieiro  (eight  leagues  from 
Coimbra),  seized  him  by  the  hair,  and  would  have 
decollated  him  but  for  the  dissuasions  of  the  gentle- 
men about  him.  The  Cardinal  cried  out,  'O  Prince, 
do  not  harm  me,  and  I  will  do  whatever  you  please !' 
'  My  pleasure  then  is,'  answered  Aflfonso,  'that  in  my 


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THE  CARDINAL  AND  THE  POPE.  185 

days  neither  I  nor  Portugal,  which  I  have  acquired 
by  my  sword^  shall  on  any  pretence  be  excommuni- 
cated. These  nephews  of  your's,  your  brother's  sons, 
whom  you  have  brought  with  you,  shall  be  left  with 
me  as  hostages ;  and  if  you  do  not,  within  four  months 
from  this  day,  send  me  satisfactory  letters  from 
Aome,  their  heads  shall  be  the  forfeit  for  your  neg- 
lect/ The  Cardinal  at  once  consented  to  the  terms. 
Affonso  Henriques,  when  he  let  the  Cardinal  go, 
sent  off  a  trusty  messenger  to  Rome,  to  obtain  intel- 
ligence and  give  minute  reports  of  all  that  passed. 
This  envoy  accordingly  informed  his  master,  that 
when  the  Cardinal  made  his  report  to  the  Pope, 
His  Holiness  protested  that  it  was  impossible  for 
him  to  comply  with  such  terms,  and  that  he  was 
much  surprised  at  the  CardinaFs  having  promised 
anything  of  the  kind.  To  which  the  Cardinal  an- 
swered, '  If  you.  Holy  Father,  had  felt  the  clutch 
of  so  stalwart  a  cavalier,  and  seen  his  naked  sword 
about  to  cut  off  your  head,  while  his  impatient  war- 
horse  was  pawing  the  ground  and  digging  your 
grave,  you  would  not  only  have  granted  the  letters 
I  promised,  but  surrendered  the  keys  of  St.  Peter.' 
"  The  Pope  sent  the  Prince  his  letters  of  indemnity 


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186  BADAJOS  AND  THE  KINGS. 

before  the  expiration  of  the  specified  time^  on  which 
the  Prince  sent  back  the  Cardinal's  nephews^  with 
great  honours  and  with  many  gifts.  The  Cardinal 
always  afterwards  transacted  at  Borne  the  affairs  that 
related  to  Portugal.  Christian  kings  and  princes 
should  well  note  those  hierarchal  intermeddlings^ 
and  how  they  should  resist  them.  Don  Solleima^ 
the  Blacky  was  from  that  time  Bishop  of  Coimbra, 
and  all  his  mandates  were  obeyed  by  the  diocese. — 

'^  Affonso  Henriques,  the  king  of  invincible  hearty 
seven  years  after  he  had  been  proclaimed  king  by  his 
army  on  the  field  of  Ourique  (?),  was  married  at  Coim- 
bra  to  Donna  Mafalda^  a  lady  lovely  in  person  and 
rich  in  graces  and  good  qualities^  as  well  as  of  royal 
lineage.  By  her  he  had  three  daughters  and  one 
son  (Sancho  I.)  His  youngest  daughter,  Oraca,  was 
married  to  King  Ferdinand  of  Leon,  but  divorced  by 
the  Pope,  because,  being  near  in  bloody  they  had 
not  obtained  a  dispensation.  This  produced  a  quarrel 
between  Affonso  Henriques  and  his  son-in-law. 
The  king  of  Portugal,  in  the  prosecution  of  his 
glorious  career  against  the  Moors,  besieged  Badajos 
with  great  force,  and  took  it  from  the  Infidels. 
Ferdinand  required  the  place  to  be  given  up  to  him 


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THE  IRON  BOLT.  187 

as  his  city.  Affonso  Henriques  refosed^  and  was 
therefore  besieged  by  his  son-in-law.  '  Oh/  exclaimed 
the  king,  '  the  Leonese  are  come  to  comb  onr  polls 
(catar-nos).  It  is  time  to  be  on  the  alert.^  He  com- 
manded a  sally  against  the  Spaniards,  and  the  press 
of  out-going  militants  from  the  city  was  so  great  as 
to  cause  confusion.  Affonso  Henriques  set  spurs 
to  his  horse  in  order  to  clear  the  gate,  and  take 
the  lead  of  his  people ;  the  horse  bounded  forward, 
bore  his  master  against  a  bolt  of  the  gate,  which  the 
porter  had  neglected  to  draw  quite  back,  and  so  the 
king's  leg  was  broken ;  but  he  rode  on  into  a  field  of 
rye,  and  there  feU,  and  the  horse  falling  on  him 
i^ravated  the  fracture.  Feman  Rodriguez,  a  Cas- 
tiUan,  observed  the  accident,  and  informed  the  King 
of  Leon,  saying,  ^  My  liege,  yonder  is  Alfonso  Hen- 
riques, with  his  leg  broken ;  go  seize  him ;  for  God 
has  given  us  a  greater  prize  than  we  expected.'  Thus 
was  the  King  of  Portugal  taken,  and  thus  did  his 
mother's  malison  take  effect  at  last,"  (in  1169,  forty- 
one  years  after  the  battle  of  St.  Mamede,  when  she 
was  defeated  and  taken  by  her  son). 

"  King  Ferdinand  soon  entered  the  town  with  his 
captive,  whose  hurts  were  there  healed,  while  he 


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188  AFFONSO  HENRIQUES. 

•was  treated  with  all  honour.  Ferdinand  came  to  an 
agreement  with  him,  by  which  AflFonso  ceded  certaiiL 
lands,  and  was  set  free,  on  condition  that  he  should 
return  to  captivity  if  he  ever  mounted  a  horse  again; 
Affonso  Henriques  observing,  '  I  am  well  content  to 
agree  to  that,  for  it  is  a  thing  that  I  shall  never  be 
able  to  do/  He  returned  to  his  kingdom,  and  com- 
pletely recovered  the  use  of  his  leg ;  but  he  never 
more  backed  a  horse — neither  choosing  to  fulfil  the 
condition,  nor  to  break  his  word.  He  always  there- 
after travelled  in  a  car,  like  the  kings  of  old,  or  in  a 
liteira  borne  on  men^s  shoulders/'  (Here  is  a  sedan 
chair  in  the  twelfth  century).  The  downright  breach 
of  faith  by  the  French  King,  who  lost  all  sauf  Vhon," 
-near  at  Pavia,  and  lost  his  honour  afterwards,  seems 
more  respectable  than  Affonso  Henriques's  quibbhng 
evasion. 

I  have  given  the  legend,  without  any  omission  or 
variation  of  importance,  nearly  as  I  found  it  in  a  work 
but  little  known,  Acenheira's  "Chronicle  of  the  Kings 
of  Portugal  /'  but  for  the  real  or  more  likely  circum* 
stances,  here  '^dashed  and  brewed  with  lies,''  see 
Herculano. 

We  ladies  rode  all  the  way,  up  to  the  very  top  of 


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LANHOSO— RIO  D'AVE.  189 

the  rocky  cone,  and  round  the  church,  and  down 
again  by  the  Oratories,  and  to  the  left  of  the  flight 
of  steps  at  bottom,  without  once  getting  off ;  a  feat 
which,  considering  the  steepness,  we  were  rather 
proud  of.  The  gentlemen,  more  merciful  to  their 
horses,  left  them  in  the  stable,  and  walked.  Return- 
ing to  Povoa  de  Lanhoso,  they  mounted,  and  we 
resumed  our  journey  through  the  fertile  vaUey  that 
we  had  admired  from  the  Mount.  Having  to  cross 
the  river  d'Ave,  we  rather  overshot  our  mark,  and 
having  thus  missed  the  proper  passage,  we  were 
obliged  to  take  to  a  narrow  stone  footway  by  a  mill,, 
(stepping-stones,  as  the  Cumbrians  would  say) — 

'<  Stone  matched  with  stone 
In  studied  symmetry,  with  interspace 
For  the  clear  waters  to  pursue  their  race 
Without  restraint." 

A  nightingale  in  some  copse  on  the  bank  was 
singing  gallantly,  as  if  he  took  the  quavering  of  the 
water-wheel  for  a  challenge.  It  was  necessary  to 
dismount  here,  and  lead  our  horses  carefully  over. 

Mr. had  done  so  vrith  his,  and  had  returned 

for  mine.     J -'s  white  horse  was  committed  to 

the  care  of  Mr.  H ,  who  had  not  guided  him 


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190  GUIMARAENS. 

three  steps  before  be  contrived  to  let  bim  slip  into 
tbe  river.    Wbat  a  splash  and  consternation !     Mr. 

H y  however,  at  some  risk  of  being  pulled  in 

overhead  and  ears  himself,  fished  the  horse  ont  again 
without  damage.  We  heard  so  many  nightingales 
along  this  pleasant  water,  that  we  called  it  Nightin- 
gale River,  which  was  almost  a  translation  of  its  real 
name,  Rio  dfAve  (Bird  River).  The  cuckoos,  also, 
were  hailing  one  another  from  hill  to  hill.  The 
road,  up  a  mountain-side,  was  toilsome;  the  prospect, 
as  we  looked  back  towards  N.  S.  do  Pilar,  magnifi- 
cent. On  our  left  lay  N.  S.  do  Porto,  another  of 
those  pilgrim  mounts,  with  its  church  and  chapels. 

We  reached  Guimaraens  about  8  p.m.,  that  is,  in 
about  three  hours  after  we  left  Povoa  on  our  return 
from  the  Pilar.  It  was  all  walking  work  for  the 
horses,  as,  indeed,  is  the  case  almost  everywhere,  the 
roads  generally  forbidding  a  brisker  pace.  We  found 
beds  prepared  for  us  at  the  best  inn,  which  is  called 
the  P(Z8teleiro,  on  account  of  certain  sweetmeats  that 
it  is,  or  was,  famed  toT--pasteio8  de  tutano,  marrow- 
patties.  It  stands  in  the  square,  and  opposite  to  the 
church  of  Nossa  Senhora  da  OUveira  (Our  Lady  of 
the  Olive  tree).    This  church,   a  most  venerable 


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GUIMARAENS.  191 

Gothic  inoniuuent  of  early  piety,  lias  been  disfigured, 
desecrated,  both  mthiu  and  without,  by  successive 
repairers  and  embellishers.  It  would  be  diflScult  to 
do  justice  to  the  incongruities  that  have  been  grafted 
on  the  old  pile ;  to  the  stupidities,  in  restoration  by 
substitution,  that  have  petrified  themselves  on  these 
walls.  The  square  tower  and  the  front  entrance 
still  preserve  their  antique  character,  in  spite  of  the 

modem  patchings  that  dishonour  it.   When  Mr. 

was  here,  eight  years  ago,  yonder  Grecian  pillar  that 
we  see  at  the  right-hand  comer  of  the  frontispiece, 
as  we  look  out  from  our  inn  window,  was  just  finished 
off,  and  the  interior  of  the  edifice  was  also  under- 
going one  of-  those  processes  of  renewal  which  have 
obliterated  ahnost  everything  that  was  appropriate 
in  the  architecture,  reducing  it  (the  interior)  to  the 
poorness  without  the  simplicity  of  a  white-washed 
conventicle. 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  previous  antiquity  of 
this  collegiate  church,  and  whoever  may  have  been 
its  founder,  it  was  rebuilt  by  John  I.,  and  it  was  one 
of  the  magnificent  structures  that  he  raised  in  devout 
memorial  of  his  victory  at  Aljubarota.  He  sent  a 
hundred  of  his  Castilian  prisoners  to  work  at  the 


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192  GUIMARAENS. 

building,  which  was  commenced  on  the  6th  of  Msj, 
1337.  In  the  sacristy  there  was  a  curious  altar- 
piece  with  several  figures,  altar  and  all  of  silver-gilt. 
This  was  taken  from  the  Spaniards  at  the  battle  of 
Aljubarota.  The  armour — thick,  heavy,  and  softly 
quilted — ^wom  by  John  I.  on  that  day  was  also  ex- 
hibited by  the  sacristan  with  laudable  pride. 

Between  the  inn  and  this  church,  and  at  least 
coeval,  to  all  appearance,  with  the  oldest  portion  of 
the  church,  is  a  triumphal  arch  or  rather  a  circular 
temple  of  pillared  arches,  called  O  Padrao,  pro- 
tected but  spoilt  by  a  gable  roof.  In  the  midst 
is  a  pillar  with  a  little  curiously-worked  crucifix. 
Near  this  temple  is  an  olive  tree  carefully  inclosed 
within  an  octagon  stone  wall,  with  iron  railing  at  top. 
There  are  two  or  three  legends  about  this  tree :  one 
of  them  will  suffice.  The  stone  cross  outside  the 
church  was  brought  from  Normandy  by  Gonsalo 
Esteves,  as  advised  in  a  dream.  The  church  had 
been  tiU  then  called  Our  Lady  of  Guimaraens.  St. 
Torquatus  had  lived  and  died  in  the  neighbourhood, 
and  when  his  relics  were  removed  to  the  church,  an 
olive  tree  which  grew  by  his.  hermitage  was  also 
transplanted  to  the  area  in  face  of  the  church,  and  it 


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GUIMARAENS.  193 

funrislied  tlie  Saint's  lamp  before  the  Sacrament  with 
oil.  Before  the  time  that  the  cross  was  brought  from 
Normandy  the  olive-tree  had  withered,  but  no  sooner 
was  the  cross  set  up  where  it  now  stands  than  the 
tree  again  flourished  and  began  working  miracles,  &c. 
The  church  then  received  the  name  of  "  Our  Lady 
of  the  Olive-tree/'  and  the  olive  branch  was  intro- 
duced into  the  town  arms,  and  placed  in  the  hand 
of  the  Virgin. 

Guimaraens  is  situated  between  the  rivers  Ave 
and  VizeUa.  It  is  girdled  by  a  thick  old  wall  with 
several  turrets  and  gateways.  When  Count  Henry, 
after  his  marriage  with  Theresa,  was  on  his  way  to 
this  place,  and  it  was  first  seen  from  the  heights  of 
St.  Catherine  (so  called  because  that  Saint  was 
buried  here  by  angeU^  after  her  martyrdom)  an 
Infante  of  Leon,  who  accompanied  him,  exclaimed, 
Qtiem  te  deu  nao  te  vio,  se  te  vira  ndo  te  dera,  "  He 
who  gave  thee  had  not  seen  thee,  had  he  seen  thee 
he  would  not  have  given  thee,''  meaning,  that  if  his 
father,  the  king  of  Leon,  had  seen  its  amenity,  its 
strong  girth  of  wall,  the  fair  city  and  its  richly- 
wooded  and  well-watered  environs,  he  would  never 
have  detached  such  a  jewel  from  his  crown.     Affonso 

VOL.  I.  K 


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194  EGAZ  MONIZ. 

Henriques  was  bom  here.  The  story  of  his  being 
besieged  here  by  the  Spaniards,  and  saved  by  the 
devoted  loyalty  of  Egaz  Moniz  is  well  known,  for  it 
is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  episodes  in  the  Lusiad. 
Whatever  may  be  its  historical  accnracy  it  is  a 
poetical  truth,  setting  forth  the  chivalrous  mettle  of 
Pidalgos  of  old  times.  At  Pa90  de  Sousa,  the  sup- 
posed birthplace  of  Egaz  Moniz,  near  the  right  bank 
of  .the  Douro,  five  leagues  above  Oporto  and  equi- 
distant from  Guimaraens,  in  the  church  that  for- 
merly belonged  to  the  Benedictine  Monks,  is  a 
monument  which  is  said  to  be  his  tomb.  Its  great 
antiquity  is  unquestionable,  and  its  rudely-sculptured 
basso-relievo,  but  for  one  unlucky  defect,  might 
establish  as  a  fact  the  celebrated  tradition,  which  the 
figures  are  said  to  represent,  of  his  journey  with  his 
wife  and  sons  to  the  court  of  Leon.  But  in  a 
description  of  the  tomb,  written  latterly  by  one  of 
the  monks,  it  is  admitted  that  the  upper  half  of  the 
figure  of  Egaz  Moniz  was  wanting,  which  the  writer 
accounts  for  by  saying  that  it  was  broken  when  the 
sculpture,  for  some  purpose  or  other,  wastemporarily 
removed  at  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century. 
But  that  half  of  the  old  hero's  figure,  with  the  cord 


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,  EGAZ  MONIZ.  195 

round  the  neck^  was  precisely  what  was  requisite  to 
verify  the  tradition,  for  though  Camoens  does  not 
mention  that  particular*,  much  earlier  writers  do, 
and  on  these  the  probability  of  the  story  rests.  (See 
the  Note  of  Herculano,  who  though  no  respecter  of 
fables  and  too  shrewd  to  be  over-gallant  to  the  lady 
of  a  hundred  tongues,  gives  good  reasons,  however, 

*  Camoens  says  only — 

£  com  86UB  filhos  e  mulher  se  parte 
A  alevantar  com  elles  a  fian9a; 
J)e8caJf08  e  despidos,  de  tal  arte 
Que  mais  move  a  piedade  que  a  yingan9a. — 

Qual  diante  do  algoz  o  condemnado, 
Que  j&  na  vida  a  morte  tern  bebido, 
Poem  no  cepo  a  garganta,  e  ja  entregado 
Espera  pelo  goipe  tao  temido : 
Tal,  diante  do  Principe  indignado, 
£gas  estaya,  a  tudo  oiTerecido : 
Mas  o  Rei  vendo  a  estranha  lealdade, 
Mais  p6de  em  iim  que  a  ira  a  piedade. 

And  with  his  wife  and  children  he  departs, 
By  these  dear  treasures  to  redeem  his  gage; 
Barefoot,  divested, — with  such  humble  arts 
As  rather  move  to  pity  than  to  rage. — 

Even  as  a  doomed  wretch  whose  hour  is  come. 
Who,  yet  alive,  of  death  foretastes  the  gall, 
Bends  to  the  block  and  waits  in  horror  dumb 
The  dreadful  stroke  that  suddenly  will  fall — 
So  He,  as  sure  his  days  had  reached  their  sum. 
Low  bowed  his  hoary  head,  resigned  to  all : 
But  o'er  the  indignant  king  such  wondrous  troth 
Prevailed;  for  pity  has  more  power  than  wrath. 

k2 


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196  CONVENTO  DA  CO^A. 

for  admitting  this  singular  adventure^  with  a  quali-* 
fication  as  to  the  precise  date  and  occasion,  into  the 
body  of  his  history.) 

June  8th, 

A  wet  Sunday.  Par  more  rain  fell  to-day  in  a 
few  hoiffs  than  in  all  the  days  put  together  since  we 
have  been  out  on  our  tour.  Lucky  that  we  were  well 
and  commodiously  housed.  In  crossing  the  little 
square,  to  the  church  close  at  hand,  we  hardly  escaped 
a  thorough  wetting.  About  three  or  four  o^clock 
the  sky  cleared,  and  we  walked  to  the  Convento  da 
Costa — of  course  no  longer  a  convent — most  beauti- 
fully situated  on  a  hill  a  mile  from  the  town.  In 
the  church  is  a  good  organ.  The  ornamental  grounds 
behind  the  convent  are  handsome.  There  is  a  noble 
wide  flight  of  stone  steps  to  the  convent  front,  which 
faces  Ouimaraens.  You  approach  it  between  two  lines 
of  stately  oaks,  one  of  which  is  a  grand  tree.  But  the 
great  lion  or  lioness  of  trees  is  one  of  the  two  Carvalhas 
(female  oaks)for  which  the  convent  is  famed.  It  stands 
at  the  end  of  what  was  formerly  the  monks^  bowling- 
green,  at  the  back  of  the  building,  and  ^^is  sup- 
posed,^' says  XJrcuUu  (in  his  Elementary  Treatise  on 
Geography,  published  1837),  ^'  to  be  coeval  with  the 


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THE  CONVENT  OAK.  197 

monastery/'  that  is,  above  seven  hundred  years  old. 
We  measured  this  tree.  It  was  324-  feet  (English) 
in  circumference  close  to  the  ground,  27  feet  4  inches 
at  about  a  yard  above  the  surface  of  the  roots,^ — ^no 
such  vast  girth  compared  with  many  well  known 
oaks.  It  is  indeed  a  grand  smdflourishinff  tree,  with 
broad  and  picturesque  ranufications,  but  the  trunk  is 
not  one  bole  for  above  two  yards,  when  it  forks  oflf 
into  two  minor  trunks  as  it  were.  The  lowliness  of 
the  main  support  detracts  from  the  majesty  of  its 
aspect.  What  tales  could  this  old  tree  teU  us  if 
it  was  a  '^  talking  oak/'  ^^a  babbler  in  the  land/' 
Kke  Mr.  Alfred  Tennyson's !  But,  being  a  female 
tree,  she  has  all  the  discretion  proper  to  her  sex,  and 
is  not  given  to  garrulity  even  in  old  age.  In  her 
infancy  she  probably  saw  Affonso  Henriques,  the 
founder  of  the  convent.  She  grew  up  with  the 
monarchy,  strengthened  with  its  strength,  and  like 
an  insensible  ingrate,  (^^hard  wood"  she  is  "and 
wrinkled  rind,")  she  has  kept  up  her  heart  through 
all  the  sad  changes  and  decline  of  the  realm,  and  is 
vigorous  yet,  though  more  than  two  lustres  have 
passed  siace  she  saw  the  last  of  her  Jeronymites. 
They  were  shadows,  she  is  substance. 


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198  GUIMARAENS. 

Ouimaraens  is  not  a  place  to  be  seen  in  a  day  or 
two^  even  with  advantages  of  fine  weather  and  a 
resident  Cicerone^  both  of  which  were  wanting  to  ns  : 
the  latter  we  might  probably  have  had  if  a  more 
favourable  state  of  the  atmosphere  had  made  it  worth 
while  for  us  to  deliver  our  letters  of  introduction. 
We  were  beaten  home  by  the  raiQ,  on  our  way  to 
the  castle^  a  remnant  of  no  small  note^  for  it  was 
the  habitation  of  Count  Henry  and  Theresa^  and  the 
ruin  is  haunted  with  a  tradition  that  might  furnish 
matter  for  a  score  of  historical  romances.  We  missed 
too  our  intended  circuit  of  the  Old-Town  waUs, 
which  we  would  have  gladly  made  for  the  sake  of  the 
royal  architect.  King  Denis  the  Poet,  who  was  a 
great  patron  of  masons,  a  builder  of  lofty  walls  if  not 
of  lofty  rhyme.     Camoens  says  of  him : — 

Nobres  villas  de  novo  edificou, 
Fortalezas,  casteUos  mui  segoros ; 
E  quaa  o  Reino  todo  reformou, 
Ck>m  ediiicioe  grandes,  e  altos  miiros. 

Old  towns  he  built  anew,  superbly  planned, 
And  towers  of  strength  and  gallant  castles  reared. 
Till,  with  its  pride  of  walls  and  domes,  the  land 
As  if  a  realm  re-edified  appeared. 

But  Guimaraens,  the  cradle  of  the  Portuguese 


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VIZELLA.  199 

monarchy,  owes  less  of  its  repute,  I  fear,  "  in  these 
degenerate  days,"  to  its  antiquity  and  history  than 
to  those  gaily-papered  circular  boxes  of  delicious 
plums  that  make  the  name  familiar  to  many  an 
English  nursery. 

June  9th. 
The  rain,  which  poured  alj  night,  did  not  cease  at 
day-break,  and  we  did  not  get  away  tiU  9  a.m.  But 
we  were  little  or  not  at  all  incommoded  by  slight 
showers  that  fell  in  the  course  of  the  day.  We 
first  rode  to  the  baths  of  Yizella  about  a  league 
distant.  There  is  more  than  one  village  of  this 
name  on  the  river  so  called.  The  Caldas  de  Vizella 
are  in  a  most  beautiful  locality.  In  the  hollow  of  a 
green  basin  is  an  open  space  with  baths,  pleasure- 
walks,  and  houses  round  it,  and  this  basin  is  within 
a  valley  rich  with  vineyards  and  fields  of  Indian 
com,  &c.,  and  pastures  and  meadows.  Timber  trees, 
fruit  trees,  and  copsewood  happily  intermingled,  and 
a  bright  river  runs  rapidly  across  the  valley,  which  is, 
moreover, 'shut  in  by  an  amphitheatre  of  hiUs  of 
irregular  elevation,  and  of  all  sorts  of  picturesque 
forms,  clad  half  way  up  with  oaks,  chesnuts,  and 
cork-trees,    and    then  to    the  .top    crowded    with 


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200  BATHS  OF  VIZELLA. 

enormous  blocks  of  granite,  multiform  as  if  they  had 
been  shaped  by  the  genius  of  variety.  The  road  to 
Vizellafrom  Ouimaraens  winds  for  two  miles  through 
a  most  fertile  and  carefully  tilled  country,  and  for 
about  two  nules  more  it  has  the  additional  advantage 
of  being  part  of  the  admirable  new  road  from  Oporto 
to  Guimaraens,  which  was  not  quite  completed  when 
we  were  there. 

It  is  pretended  that  Yizella  was  the  fiioman  Cin- 
nania,  the  place  which,  according  to  Yal.  Maximus, 
offered  so  resolute  a  resistance  to  D.  Brutus,  who 
was  honoured  with  a  triumph  and  the  surname 
of  Callaicus  for  a  slaughter  of  the  Galicians,  The 
only  argument  is  the  name  of  a  house  and  field, 
Herdade  (farm  or  property)  de  Santa  Susanna,  which 
is  imagined  to  be  a  corruption  &om  Cinnania,  because 
there  was  never  a  chapel  to  St.  Susanna  at  these 
baths.  The  name  perhaps  was  bestowed  in  honour 
of  another  and  much  earlier  Susanna  by  some  pro- 
prietor of  the  ground  who  had  read  his  Bible,  The 
field,  however,  may  have  been  the  site  of  an  ancient 
town,  for  at  the  depth  of  six  or  seven  feet  large 
quantities  of  well-worked  stone  and  of  B/Oman  bricks, 
not  glazed,  have  been  dug  out. — The  thermae  which 


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BATHS  OF  VIZELLA.  201 

examiners  whose  judgment  is  of  far  more  weight  than 
any  I  can  pretend  to  have  declared  to  be  incontestably 
Roman  are  the  Banho  de  Meia  Lua,  half-moon  bath^ 
Banho  Grande^  great  bath^  and  Banho  Bombay  pump- 
bath,  and  those  opposite  the  water,  on  the  other  side 
of  the  river,  where  there  must  have  been  an  extensive 
establishment.  These  springs  are  strongly  impreg- 
nated with  sulphur,  and  vary  considerably  from  each 
other  in  the  degrees  of  natural  heat. 

On  a  rock  overhanging  the  river  is  a  beautiful 
Swiss  cottage,  the  property  of  Mr.  W ,  an  Eng- 
lish merchant  of  Oporto,  who  had  kindly  oflfered  me 
the  loan  of  it  for  any  number  of  days  that  we  might 
find  it  convenient  to  remain  here.  Unfortunately, 
we  could  not  avail  ourselves  of  the  oflFer.  I  men- 
tion it  to  gratify  my  own  feeling  in  regard  to  this 
specimen  of  Portonian  kindnesses  to  an  invalid 
stranger,  who  had  only  left  my  native  hills  for  a 
warmer  climate,  as  a  rain-vexed  bird  comes  out  from 
the  wood  to  dry  its  feathers  in  the  sun  and  take  a 
strong  flight  home  again. 

About  a  mile  from  the  Caldas,  between  the  hills 
to  the  south,  is  the  manorial  estate,  quinta  e  honra, 
of  Grominhaes,  which  belongs  to  the  family  of  Cimes, 
k3 


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202  LAMEIRA  PILLAR. 

In  the  open  space  before  the  house  formerly  lay  a 
square  pillar^  which  was  brought  thither  from  the 
Lameiray  the  fen  or  water-source.  It  had  an  inscrip- 
tion which  seems  hardly  intelligible;  but  it  may 
perhaps  be  easy  to  an  acute  decipherer  of  Latin 
shorthand-writings  in  spite  of  some  officious  reno- 
vator who  had  been  at  work  upon  it>  and  in  spite  of 
the  punctuations  which  he  had  introduced^  and  which 
had  no  business  there.  I  give  it  as  it  has  been 
communicated  to  me : — 

G  POMES  IVS 
CNCAEVRO 
NIS.  FNEI 
VGENVS  VX 
S  AMENSIS 
REORORNIA 
NIGO.  V.  S.  P. 
QVISQVIS  HO 
NORE  MAGI 
TA  SITATEVA 
GLORIA  SERVET 
P.  R.  AE  GIPIAS 
PVERONE 
LINATHVNC 
LAPIDEM 

General  Trant  removed  to  England  a  pillar  that  was 
between  the  baths  and  the  church  of  Vizella.  Was 
this  the  same?     And  if  so,  where  is  it  now  ? 


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VILLARINHO.  203 

We  rode  up  to  the  church,  which  stands  on  a  hill, 
to  obtain  of  the  curate,  who  dwells  close  by,  any 
information  about  Boman  remains  in  this  neigh- 
bourhood. Mr.  H.  went  in  to  speak  with  him,  and 
after  a  conference  that  lasted  a  quarter  of  an  hour, 
came  out  with  a  misdirection  to  Villarinho,  about  a 
league  up  some  stiflF  country,  almost  wholly  out  of 
our  way.  "When  we  got  to  this  Villarinho,  under 
the  guidance  of  a  good-natured  peasant,  we  found 
nothing  but  a  modem  old  chapel,  and  could  neither 
see  nor  hear  of  a  vestige  of  Roman  antiquity  here- 
abouts. We  have  nevertheless  been  since  assured 
that  we  were  very  near  what  we  were  in  quest  of. 
Our  ride  over  hills  and  heaths  and  happy-looking 
valleys  was  pleasant  in  spite  of  a  vile  bewildering 
road,  which  was  the  worse  trial  to  our  patience 
because  we  knew  that  we  were  all  the  way  near  the 
excellent  new  road,  from  which  we  ought  not  to  have 
deviated  on  a  wild-goose  chase,  leaving  "a  trusty 
guide  for  one  that  might  our  steps  betray .^'  In 
vain  did  we  try  to  revenge  ourselves  on  Mr.  H. 
His  imperturbable  good  humour  baffled  our  malice, 
and  here,  as  throughout  our  tour,  it  .was  impos- 
sible for  us,  under  any  mischance>  to  be  long  or 


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204  MR.  H, 

seriously  discomposed  in  the  presence  of  so  much 
equanimity. 

That  dreamy^  quiet,  clever  Mr.  H.  is  gone  fex,  far 
away  to  the  New  World,  When  last  we  heard  of 
,  him,  he  was  among  the  "  smart  men''  who  dwell  in 
Natchez.  I  should  not  be  at  all  surprised,  when 
next  we  receive  tidings  of  him,  to  learn  that  he  is 
smoking  his  cigar  among  the  Coctaw  or  Chickasaw 
Indians.  I  hope  he  is  not  as  irrecoverably  gone 
from  us  as  the  treacherous  Bonds  of  Missisippi.  If 
these  pages  should  ever  reach  his  hand,  some  of 
them  may  serve  to  light  his  amber-mouthed  Meer- 
schaum; but  this  one  page  he  will  preserve;  for  I 
think  he  will  not  be  sorry  to  know  that  in  sending 
him  our  Minho  tour  in  a  printed  form,  both  Mr. 

and  I  echo,  in  regard  to  him,  the  words  of  a 

venerable  bard  addressed  to  a  valued  friend  and 
fellow-traveller  in  Italy: — 

Companion ! 
These  records  take,  and  happy  should  ^  we  "  be, 
•    Were  but  the  gift  a  meet  retom  to  thee 
For  kindnesses  that  neyer  ceased  to  flow. 
And  prompt  self-sacrifice  to  which  ^^we  "  owe 
Far  more  than  any  heart  but ''  ours  "  can  know. 

We  halted  near  a  village,  named,  if  I  recollect 
rightly,  Agrella;  and  while  the  horses   and  mule 


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LONDON-MADE  FLIES.  205 

were  led  to  the  eataldgem  for  rest  and  refreshment^ 
we  chose  our  bivouac,  for  we  were  no  sleepers  to-day, 
in  a  charming  spot  by  the  banks  of  a  clear  little 
river,  and  there  we  had  our  luncheon  in  a  grove 
of  "  oaks  that  hid  their  knotted  knees  in  fern."  We 
had  gray  stones  for  seats,  and  for  our  table  a  plane 
of  granite,  that  seemed  made  for  the  purpose,  for  it 
was  just  of  the  most  convenient  height  and  dimen- 
sions. The  river  looked  as  if  it  ought  to  be  full  of 
trout;  so  one  of  our  party  employed  himself  for  two 
hours  in  tempting  them  to  "  come  and  be  killed :  '* 
but  the  trout,  if  there  were  any,  did  not  understand 
London-made  flies,  and  we  had  the  pleasure  of 
laughing  at  him  for  his  want  of  skill,  at  which  he 
was  rather  piqued, — exaxstly  what  we  meant  him  to 
be;  but  the  moment  he  found  that  out  he  spoiled 
the  joke  by  joining  in  the  laugh  and  putting  up  his 
reel  and  rod.  . 

Our  horses  were  now  ready.  We  left  the  men  and 
mule  to  come  on  at  their  leisure,  and  rode  on  merrily, 
cantering  almost  all  the  way  over  the  new  road  to 
Oporto,  and  thence  back  to  the  Foz.  We  had  had  a 
series  of  trying  rides,  and  now  and  then  rough  accom- 
modations, but  the  Lima  might  be  Lethe  enough  to 


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206  ODE. 

make  us  forget  idl  poor  troubles^  and  the  noble  Ger^z 

is  enough  to  make  us  in  love  with  them  if  they  cannot 

be  forgotten.     To  propitiate  our  Piscator  for  my 

betrayal  of  his  ill  success  in  the  art  and  mystery  of 

angUng^  I  will  here  insert  the  ungallant  man^s  Apo- 

theosis  of  OerSz. 

SERRA  OF  GEREZ. 
Were  I  an  Idol  to  adore, 
Nor  glittering  gems  nor  golden  ore 

Gould  so  pervert  my  mind. 
Nor  Man,  nor  Woman,  nor  the  Moon, 
Nor  Sun,  the  most  diyine-like  boon 

That  cheereih  mortal  kind. 

The  Moon,  than  Woman  lovelier  far, 
Is  yet  but  an  unsteady  star. 

In  growth  or  on  the  wade ; 
Like  Woman's  too  her  smiles  are  sad. 
And  make  the  earnest  gazer  mad 

At  springtide  of  the  brain. 

The  dazzling  God  of  olden  days. 
Veiled  in  a  mystery  of  rays. 

Hath  still  too  many  a  shrine ; 
Too  many  a  Poet's  heart  supplies 
A  vainly  burning  sacrifice 

To  Phcebus  and  the  Nine. 

The  strange  immeasurable  Deep, 
Low  panting  in  his  awfid  sleep, 

A  Grod  benign  might  seem ; 
But  I  too  oft  have  seen  him  wake, 
With  every  wave  a  hissing  snake. 

More  dreadful  than  a  dream. 


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ODE.  207 


So  none  of  these,  Moon,  Sun,  nor  Sea, 
The  idol  of  my  choice  should  be, 

^  Though  all  have  had  their  praise/' 
I  'd  ask  of  Nature  to  supply 
Some  fixed  transcendent  majesty 

Like  thee,  sabhme  Ger^z  ! 

Girt  with  a  stedfast  cloud  of  pines, 
His  star-loved  head  above  them  shines 

Serener  than  a  star. 
While  Eagles  with  a  desert  voice 
Around  their  Father-King  rejoice. 

Or  hail  bim  from  afar. 

Behold  the  mighty  Serra  stand. 
Grim  Patron  of  a  smiling  land ; 

His  bounty  never  fails. 
And  freely  from  his  generous  veins 
He  yields  the  streams  that  feed  the  plains. 

The  lifeblood  of  the  vales. 

When  stormy  uproar  round  him  raves, 
When  winds  howl  wolf-like  in  his  caves, 

And  through  his  forests  chide, 
A  type  he  stands  of  sufferance  meek : 
The  peevish  tempests  smite  his  cheek. 

The  lightnings  pierce  his  side ; 

And  when  their  idle  rage  is  o'er. 
More  like  a  God  he  seems  to  soar 

And  shine  with  all  his  fountains  — 
Yet,  lip  to  earth,  on  height  like  this, 
'Tis  but  a  footstool  that  I  kiss 

Of  HiH  who  made  the  mountains. 


We  were  the  last  of  the  lingerers  at  the  Foz. 
Portuguese  aud  English  had  ail  returned  to  their 


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208  THE  FOZ  DESERTED. 

homes  by  the  end  of  October :  gladly  would  we  have 
remained  through  November,  but  the  weather  was  so 
wild  and  boisterous,  no  St.  Martin's  summer  this 
year,  that  we  were  fairly  driven  up  to  the  city  a  fort- 
night sooner  than  we  had  intended. 

How  amusingly  un-English  was  this  removal.  The 
house  was  not  a  house  rented  for  the  season,  but 
belonged  to  our  friend,  and  the  furniture  belonged 
to  the  house,  and  yet  every  article  of  furniture  had 
to  be  removed  to  Oporto,  and  with  the  excep- 
tion of  two  or  three  small  wagon-loads  of  kitchen 
goods,  mattresses,  and  such  things  as  could  not 
be  injured  by  jolting,  everything  was  carried  up  by 
the  carreteiras.  Between  thirty  and  forty  of  these 
merry  laughing  joking  girls  assembled  themselves 
round  the  street-door  early  in  the  morning;  and 
there  they  waited  until  they  were  admitted)  about  a 
dozen  at  a  time,  into  the  room  where  the  several 
packages  were  arranged;  and  it  was  amusing  to 
observe  what  a  rush  was  made  towards  the  burthens 
that  looked  the  lightest  or  most  convenient  for 
transfer,  and  how  quickly  they  were  deserted  for 
others  if  the  hand  discovered  that  the  eye  had  proved 
a  treacherous  guide.     After  much  good-humoured 


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I  i 


OPORTO  WINTER.  209 

squabbling  among  themselves^  and  no  little  equally 
good-humoured  rating  on  the  part  of  their  employer 
at  the  delay  occasioned  by  all  this  jabber  and  nonsense^ 
each  helped  the  other  to  raise  the  load  to  her  head^ 
a  ticket  was  given  to  each  which  was  to  be  shown  to 
the  officer  at  the  city  gate,  and  oflf  the  party  went  to 
make  way  for  another ;  and  the  same  scene  was  acted 
again  and  again  till  the  house  was  cleared  of  every 
vestige  of  furniture.  We  stayed  to  see  the  fiin  out, 
and  then  motmted  our  horses  and  rode  up  to  the 
city,  and  were  lucky  enough  to  escape  a  wetting— 
for  a  wetting  in  Portugal  is  a  wetting  not  merely  to 
the  skin,  but  through  it  as  it  seemed  to  me  the  once 
or  twice  I  was  caught  in  a  shower — ^literally,  in  less 
than  three  minutes,  I  was  just  as  wet  as  if  I  had 
been  soused  in  the  Douro. 

In  a  few  days  our  bright  skies  returned  and  con- 
tinued for  weeks ;  the  air  out  of  the  sun  was  colder 
than  I  had  expected  to  find  it  in  Portugal,  and  I 
often  wondered  how  the  Camillas  in  our  garden 
braved  the  keen  clear  air — ^trees,  large  as  common 
sized  Portugal  laurels,  covered  with  flowers  of  every 
shade  from  the  purest  white  to  the  richest  crimson. 
The  orange  groves,  at  this  season  laden  with  golden 


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210  RIDES  ABOUT  OPORTO. 

firuit,  are  truly  gorgeous.  The  fields  are  as  green 
as  English  fields  in  spring;  lambs  are  sporting  on 
the  grass  as  they  sport  with  us  in  April  and  May; 
primroses  and  violets  spangle  the  steep  banks  of  the 
more  retired  lanes.  In  the  ever-green  pine  woods 
herds  of  goats  and  flocks  of  sheep  are  grazing, 
tended  by  their  picturesque  and  youthful  goatherds 
and  shepherdesses  frolicsome  as  the  kids  and  lambs 
themselves.  The  sun  too  is  so  powerful  that,  with 
all  those  vernal  seemings,  had  it  not  been  for 
certain  leafless  trees  in  the  gardens  and  hedge-rows, 
and  the  keen  air  out  of  the  sun,  I  should  have 
quite  forgotten  it  was  winter,  as  we  pursued  our 
daily  rides  exploring,  for  three  or  four  hours,  every 
passable  and  many  almost  impassable  roads  for  ten 
miles  round  Oporto.  Among  the  passable  roads  the 
most  beautifiil  pechaps  is  the  one  to  Yallongo.  I 
use  the  epithet  beautiful  as  applied  to  the  country 
through  which  the  road  is  taken,  and  it  is  equally 
applicable  to  the  road  itself,  which  is  as  well  con- 
ducted across  that  mountain  pass,  as  well  made,  the 
surface  in  as  good  order,  as  any  seven  miles  of  that 
famous  road  through  North  Wales  before  the  days  of 
railways.    There  is  much  traffic  on  this  road,  for  the 


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VALLONGO.  211 

village  of  Yallongo  supplies  Oporto  with  the  greater 
part  of  its  wheaten  bread.  It  is  brought  in  three 
times  a-week,  and  if  you  travel  that  way  on  these 
days  you  will  find  almost  one  continuous  string  of 
mules  or  asses  from  village  to  city :  the  bread  is  in 
large  panniers^  swung  across  the  backs  of  the 
animals^  each  bakeress  sits  enthroned  upon  the  pan- 
nier of  the  leading  mule  or  donkey  of  her  file,  and 
she  guides  him  by  the  whip  more  than  by  the  bridle. 
It  grieved  me  to  observe  that  very  many  of  these 
women  and  girls  w^re  suffering  from  weak  and  rn- 
flamed  eyes  and  eye-Uds;  aad  this  is  too  easily 
accounted  for  when  you  hear  that  these  fomeira8  are 
up  at  1  o^clock  A.M.  to  make  and  bake  the  bread, 
which  they  leave  at  the  doors  of  their  several  cus- 
tomers in  Oporto  by  eight  o^dock,  in  time  for  break- 
fast (what  is  not  disposed  of  iu  this  way  is  taken 
and  sold  at  the  stalls  ia  the  bread  market,  a  small 
square  appropriated  to  this  purpose).  Well  then 
may  the  eyes  of  these  industiious  creatures  suflfer, 
coming  as  they  do  through  summer  and  through 
winter  direct  from  their  hot  ovens  to  encounter  the 
always  fresh  and  often  cuttingly  cold  air  on  the 
high  ridges  that  rise  between  VaUongo  aad  the  city. 


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212  ST.  COSME. 

The  return  mules  carry  flour  for  the  bread  they 
bring.  ''Why,  then/'  you  will  probably  ask  as  I  did, 
''is  the  bread  made  at  Vallongo?''  Because  the 
transfer  of  bread  and  flour  costs  less  than  that  of 
wood,  which  is  very  plentiful  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  this  village. 

Taking  the  new  road  to  Yallongo,  and  returning 
over  the  hills  by  St.  Cosme,  and  so  back  to  Oporto, 
a  ride  of  fdU  twenty  miles,  shows  you  as  much  of 
rich  and  wild  and  beautifully  varied  scenery  as,  I 
should  think,  could  anywhere  be  found  within  the 
same  space.  We  ascended  and  descended  three 
several  ranges  of  hills  crossing  the  narrow  valleys 
that  lay  cradled  between  these  ranges.  A  dashing 
brook  or  a  dancing  rivulet  made  its  way  down  from 
the  bare  hill-tops  through  the  pine  woods  and 
forests  of  cork-trees  and  ilexes  into  each  of  these  snug 
little  fertile  vales,  there  to  inlay  the  green  fields  and 
serve  as  a  looking-glass  for  the  stately  cypress-tree, 
or  golden  orange  grove.  The  hill  of  St.  Cosme,  with 
its  chapel  and  crosses,  is  a  very  striking  object — a 
land-mark  to  the  landsman,  and  to  the  wave-worn 
mariner  a  well-known  beacon:  the  view  from  the 
chapel-yard  is  one  of  the  most  commanding  in  this 


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CAMPANHA.  :  213 

part  of  the  country.  The  road  from  St.  Cosme  to 
the  city  is  perhaps  the  best  of  the  old-fashioned 
payed  roads^  but  bad  is  the  best;  and  it  is  not  a 
pleasant  road,  on  account  of  the  number  of  coal 
carts  you  faU  in  with,  and  they  move  along  so 
slowly  you  have  no  chance  of  escaping  both  a  meet^ 
ing  and  a  passing  with  the  same  set — seventy  in  a 
string ! — each  cart  striving  to  out-creak  and  out* 
squeak  its  neighbour.  To  one  who  has  not  heard  a 
cart-wheel  chorus  in  Portugal,  to  describe  it  would 
be  talking  to  the  deaf. 

I  have  spoken  of  banks  spangled  with  primroses 
in  December.  I  cannot  refrain  from  describing  one 
particular  bank  and  one  particular  bunch  which  we 
fell  in  with,  in  one  of  our  bye-way  rides.  We  were 
fording  the  stream  that  runs  through  the  valley  of. 
Campanha.  A  blind  man  was  feeling  his  way  with 
a  long  stick  over  a  simple  stone  bridge,  hardly  a 
bridge,  for  it  was  only  a  succession  of  long  and  very 
narrow  slabs  supported  by  upright  stones,  with  no 
fence  whatever.  Under  this  bridge,  growing  on  the 
river's  brim,  we  spied  a  bunch  of  primroses  reflecting 
itself  in  the  glassy  pool  below,  which  was  not  ru£9ed 
by  two  tiny  waterfalls  that  leaped  down  the  bank 


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214  THE  FRENCH  AND  THE  BRIDGE  OF  BOATS. 

from  the  field  aboye^  and  between  which  falls  the 
primrose  grew.  This  was  a  pretty  foreground  to  a 
middle  distance  of  green  meadows  with  rising  ground 
beyond,  on  the  most  eleyated  point  of  which  stood 
the  fine  old  church,  neighboured  by  a  large  and  hand- 
some building  formerly  a  convent,  round  which  the 
village  gathered,  its  lowly  roofis  peeping  out  from 
among  the  orange-trees  that  sheltered  them  from 
sun  and  storm.  The  village  was  backed  by  pine 
woods  stretching  away  to  the  blue  hiUs  that  rose 
range  above  range  in  the  far  distance. 

We  had  crossed  from  the  Vallongo  road  and 
skirted  a  portion  of  those  pine  woods,  and  how  grand 
the  sea-like  music  made  by  the  wind  among  the 
branches!  We  were  perfectly  sheltered  from  the 
wind,  and  being  so  must  have  complained  of  hot  sun 
only,  could  we  possibly  have  complained  of  anything 
amid  so  much  beauty. 

One  of  our  frequent  rides  was  down  the  Bond  Street 
of  Oporto,  the  Rua  das  Flores,  through  the  fish  and 
vegetable  markets  on  the  quay,  where,  by  the  way, 
is  still  to  be  seen  that  curious  specimen  of  historical 
painting  meant  to  represent  the  merciless  doings  of 
the  French  on  Soult^s  entry  into  Oporto,  in  March, 


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OUR  LORD  OF  THE  ROCK.  215 

1829,  when  they  cut  down  or  hurried  into  the  river 
some  scores  of  the  unarmed  fugitive  populace  who 
were  endeavouring  to  escape  over  the  old  bridge  of 
boats.  Here  we  crossed  the  suspension-bridge  to 
ViUa  Nova,  ascended  the  heights  where  stands  the 
Serra  Convent,  and  roamed  far  away  into  the  country 
beyond.  After  getting  fairly  clear  of  Villa  Nova, 
the  first  village  we  came  to  was  distinguished  by  the 
high  title  of  "  New-Town  Paradise,^'  Villa  Nova  de 
Paraiso.  The  next  village  was  Espirito  Santo. 
Hence  we  struck  off  to  the  right,  pursuing  our  way 
down  to  the  coast  till  we  found  ourselves  in  front  of 
the  lonely  chapel  of  O  Senkor  da  Pedra,  "  The  Lord 
of  the  Rock,^*  on  the  wild  sea- shore  where  this 
chapel  braves  the  waves  of  every  tide  that  flows  and 
ebbs.  Hither  the  families  of  fishermen  and  seamen 
resort  to  pray  for  the  safety  of  those  friends  who  are 
exposed  to  "the  dangers  of  the  seas/'  as  the  sea- 
men and  fishermen  also  do  to  return  thanks  for 
their  preservation,  or  to  implore  a  blessing  on  their 
intended  voyage.  Hence  along  the  sands  for  two  or 
three  nules,  theu  up  to  Magdalena,  a  tree-embowered 
village,  which  is  chiefly  inhabited  by  potters :  happy 
moulders  in  clay!   for  they  do  not  congregate  in 


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216  A  WRECK. 

one  enormous  factory^  working  uader  one  enormous 
capitalist;  but  each  man's  home  is  his  factory,  and 
his  garden  his  drying-ground ;  and  you  see  him  sit- 
ting before  his  cottage  door,  assisted  by  his  wife  and 
cheered  by  the  sight  of  his  little  ones  playing  about 
him,  while  he  is  moulding,  just  as  they  were  moulded 
in  the  days  of  Bachael,  the  graceful  jars  and  pitchers 
that  are  used  to  convey  the  water  from  the  well. 

Another  charming  ride  we  made  out  for  ourselves, 
by  keeping  among  thick  woods  that  still  clothe  the 
summit  of  the  left;  bank  of  the  Douro,  and  coming 
out  upon  the  Cabadello-sands  opposite  Foz.  One 
day  we  went  thither  to  look  at  two  vessels  that 
had  been  wrecked  the  previous  afternoon  in  attempt- 
ing to  cross  the  Bar.  We  found  this  large  plain  of 
sand  covered  with  people  as  if  it  were  a  fair.  One 
of  the  luckless  vessels — (luckless,  for  twelve  ships 
came  in  by  the  same  tide  all  safe,  and  these  two  were 
following  close  upon  them)  was  visible  from  keel 
to  masthead,  standing  upright  and  looking  unin- 
jured, in  the  middle  of  the  channel,  where  she  had 
struck  on  a  rock  which  is  left  dry  at  low  water.  But 
of  the  other  vessel  not  a  trace  could  I  discover,  and 
hardly  could  I  be  persuaded  that  one  curved  piece 


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OLIVEIRA  CONVENT.  217 

of  wood^  more  than  half-bedded  in  the  sand,  was  all 
that  remained  of  her  on  the  spot  where  she  was 
stranded.  '^Yes/'  said  the  Portuguese  tide-waiter 
who  pointed  this  out  to  us,  observing,  perhaps,  my 
incredulity,  ''the  sea  is  a  grand  workman;  he  can 
undo  in  one  hour  more  than  all  the  shipwrights  in 
Portugal  can  put  together  in  a  month/^  And  true 
enough;  the  vessel  had  been  knocked  to  pieces  in 
that  short  time;  the  sands  were  strewn  with  her 
timbers,  ropes,  sails,  and  cargo.  Already  many  of 
the  sails  were  converted  into  coverings  for  tents, 
under  which  were  collected  portions  of  the  wreck. 
Some  of  the  people  were  guarding  those  tents,  others 
raking  up  more  wreck  to  bring  to  them;  others 
loading  oxen-cars  with  goods  so  much  injured  as  to 
be  of  no  use  except  to  bum  and  spread  as  ashes  upon 
the  fields ;  others  taking  away  what  was  least  injured 
to  the  boats  for  conveyance  to  the  city.  It  was  one 
of  the  most  melancholy  busy  scenes  I  ever  witnessed. 
One  more  ride  on  the  Villa  Nova  side  of  the  river, 
and  I  have  done.  Up  the  stream  to  Oliveira,  now 
a  Quinta,  once  a  convent.  Honour  to  the  philoso- 
phers of  the  cowl ! — with  what  fine  taste  did  the 
monks  invariably  select  the  loveliest  spots  wherein 

VOL.  I.  L 


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218  OUVEIRA. 

to  set  op  their  rest !  In  riyer  scenery  nothing  can 
exceed  the  charm  of  this  situation^  whether  yon  look 
up  to  it  from  the  river^  or  look  down  from  it  to  the 
riyer,  which  here  makes  a  considerable  bend : — the 
banks  are  high  and  steep,  and  covered  with  wood;  a 
lateral  valley  empties  the  bright,  clear  waters  of  its 
rocky  stream  into  the  Donro  just  at  the  centre  of 
this  bend,  and  half-way  up  the  bank  which  over- 
hangs the  Douro  stands  the  convent.  The  site 
commands  extensive  views  both  up  and  down  the 
water;  and  within  a  few  minutes^  walk  from  the 
door,  along  a  path-way  shaded  by  forest-trees  and 
conducted  over  and  round  some  rocky  knolls,  you 
come  to  a  point  whence  you  look  down  into  the 
lateral  valley,  with  its  wood-fringed,  murmuring 
stream  winding  away  through  soft  green  fields; 
patches  of  wheat,  and  maize,  and  rye ;  cottages  half 
lost  among  orange  groves  and  ramadas  of  vine,  or 
creeping  up  the  hill  that  closes  in  this  sequestered 
vale  on  the  opposite  side  to  Oliveira,  and  on  the  top 
of  which  hill  stands  the  church,  guarding  the  village 
of  Avintes  that  nestles  round  it,  embowered  in  wood, 
with  here  and  there  a  pine  tree,  hreaJAng  ya^  its 
dark  table  top  the  broken  outUne  of  this  rocky, 
wooded  range  of  hills. 


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AVINTES.  219 

Byron  has  his  Albanian  beauty  among  the  workers 
upon  the  road,  Rogers  his  statue-like  nymph  at 
the  well  near  Mola  di  Graeta^  Wordsworth  his  High- 
land girl^  and  his  Italian  girl  too;  but  of  all  the 
radiant  beauties  I  ever  beheld^  the  most  lovely  was 
an  offuadeira — a  lassie  at  the  fountain  in  the  village 
of  Oliveira.  She  was  about  fourteen.  Our  poets 
must  have  awarded  the  palm  of  beauty  to  her^  had 
they  been  present^  when^  in  compliance  with  a  signal 
firom  us^  and  encouraged  by  some  matronly  Uxvan^ 
deiraa  who  were  busy  with  their  linen  at  the  weU- 
pool^  she  put  down  her  pitcher  from  her  head  and 
joined  a  troop  of  youthfol  companions  that  were 
running  after  us^  roguishly  begging  alms.  I  will  not 
attempt  to  describe  the  indescribable :  ''  to  see  her 
was  to  love  her.'^ 

In  the  village  of  Avintes  is  made  most  of  the  broa 
that  is  consumed  in  Oporto  and  its  neighbourhood. 
Here^  too^  the  female  bakers  are  their  own  carriers^ 
but  their  bread  is  taken  by  water ;  and  one  of  the 
most  cheerful  sounds  on  the  river  is  the  chorus  of 
voices  that  comes  firom  these  girls  as  they  merrily 
row  along^  twelve  or  fourteen^  perhaps,  in  one 
boat. 

l2 


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220  OPORTO. 

As  villages  in  Portugal  are  often  occupied  by 
people  of  one  trade^  so  in  her  larger  towns  some  of 
the  streets  are  exclusively  possessed  by  particular 
classes  of  artisans.  In  Oporto^  there  are  the  shoe- 
makers' street^  and  the  braziers'  street^  and  the  car- 
penters' street^  and  the  cabinet-makers'  street,  and 
the  coopers'  street.  To  these  last  is  allotted  a  street 
most  inconvenient  in  some  respects,  though  near  the 
river,  as  it  ought  to  be  —  the  very  old,  and  very 
narrow,  and  very  picturesque,  Bua  dos  Banhos,  so 
narrow  you  might  almost  shake  hands  across  from 
an  upper  story.  Yet  in  this  street,  before  the  open 
door- ways  of  their  dark  open  workshops,  the  coopers 
light  their  fires,  and  on  these  fires  they  place,  when 
necessary,  the  casks  they  are  in  progress  with — ^a 
pleasant  variety  for  my  young,  spirited  Andalusian 
barb,  when  all  of  a  sudden  a  blaze  of  fire  issued 
from  the  top  of  a  great  cask,  that  had  concealed 
from  him  the  kindling  shavings,  which  might  have 
in  some  degree  prepared  the  animal  for  this  outburst 
of  flame. 

Oporto  is  a  most  interesting  and  entertaining  town 
for  an  English  stranger  to  explore,  and  I  believe  we 
poked  into  every  square,  large  and  small, — every 


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OPORTO.  221 

street,  evexy  lane,  where  a  horse  could  go ;  and  cer- 
tainly we  carried  into  these  places  even  more  wonder 
and  amusement  than  we  brought  out.  To  see  a  lady 
on  horseback,  riding  in  English  fashion,  and  in  Eng- 
lish riding  costume,  in  itself  creates  what  the  French 
call  sensation;  but  to  see  her  in  such  out-of4he-way 
comers,  the  wonder  was  tenfold,  and  comical  were 
the  remarks  we  used  to  overhear,  both  in  the  town 
and  country.  I  was  once  requested  to  spare  a 
piece  of  my  "  vestido,^^  to  make  a  coat  of;  another 
time,  I  was  politely  told  I  was  dressed  in  man^s 
attire;  another  time,  a  little  urchin  ran  after  me, 
crying  out,  "  Que  diabo  "  of  a  long  gown !  and  so 
on.  Almost  every  child  you  see,  and  this  is  most 
common  in  Villa  Nova,  repeats  as  you  pass,  '*  I  say, 
I  say'*  Do  not  fear ;  I  am  not  going  to  enter  upon 
a  lame  description  of  every  strange  thing  and  every 
strange  place  I  saw  in  Oporto.  I  will  only  for  one 
moment  allude  to  its  gardens,  which  make  it  so  fair 
and  so  agreeable  a  city  to  dwell  in ;  and  to  the  steep 
and  rocky  ground  on  which  it  stands,  and  by  which 
it  is  surrounded*  When  leaving  the  town  by  the  Rua 
Santa  Catherina,  I  was  always  reminded  of  Edin- 
burgh.    Prom  one  elevated  point  of  ground  you 


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222  CHURCHES. 

looked  upon  the  city  at  your  feet;  the  sea  beyond ; 
the  mountains  behind  you.  Proceed  but  a  few  steps, 
and  you  found  yourself  amid  a  waste  of  grand  rock 
and  wild  moor,  with  not  a  trace  of  man. 

I  ought,  perhaps,  to  say  a  word  of  one  or  two  of 
the  churches  and  conyents,  and  of  the  public  library, 
though  I  do  not  forget  that  many  a  tourist  and  artist 
has  been  here  before  me.  There  are  many  fine  old 
churches  in  Oporto,  but  none  that  can  boast  of  a 
tower  like  that  of  the  Clerigos,  which  is  a  land-mark 
and  a  sea-mark  for  leagues.  The  church  of  St.  Bento 
is  very  fine;  the  high  reliefs,  in  wood,  which  cover 
the  walls  of  the  organ  gallery,  most  curious,  and  well 
worthy  of  attention.  The  Portuguese  are  surely  un- 
rivalled as  carvers  in  wood  and  as  hewers  in  stone, 
especially  in  the  latter  art :  they  work  very  slowly ; 
but  the  work,  when  done,  is  first-rate.  The  church 
of  Francisco  is  magnificent,  and  its  wood-sculptures 
(talhas)  are  admirable. 

The  Cathedral,  with  aU  its  discrepancies  of  styles, 
is  of  a  stately,  though  rather  plain  and  heavy  exte- 
rior. It  has  two  lateral  towers.  Within,  it  is  very 
handsome,  though  not  gorgeous;  but  so  dirty  and 
neglected,  as  to  make  one  melancholy.    The  carved 


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BISHOP'S  PALACE.  223 

wood-work  of  the  chief  altar  here,  again,  is  remark- 
ably fine.  This  rococo  is  not  classical;  but  even 
fastidious  judges  of  art  have  assented  to  its  beauty. 
There  is  also  a  silver  altax,  of  the  year  1713,  much 
celebrated  for  its  elegance.  The  sacristy  boasts  of  a 
painting  of  the  Virgin  and  Child,  to  which  high  excel- 
lence is  more  than  questionably  imputed.  Large 
sums,  it  is  said,  have  been  offered  for  it.  The  report 
of  such  offers  for  objects  of  little  value  too  often 
reminds  one  of  an  ungracious  proverb,  which  does 
not  apply  to  Solomon,  who  was  wise  as  well  as  rich. 

Some  native  authors  carry  back  the  date  of  the 
foundation  of  this  church  so  far  as  the  seventh  cen- 
tury; perhaps  confounding  the  time  of  its  erection 
with  the  date  of  the  See,  for  Oporto  was  a  bishopric 
before  the  close  of  that  century.  Other  writers  assert, 
less  improbably,  that  it  was  originally  constructed  by 
Theresa,  the  Countess  of  Portugal,  after  the  decease 
of  Count  Henry, 

The  granite  staircase  of  the  bishop^s  palace  is 
handsome;  painted  walls  and  ceiling,  the  latter 
finished  by  a  cupola,  round  which  were  pictured 
birds  of  paradise  on  the  wing.  Private  chapel  of 
the  palace  pretty,  but  not  sumptuous,  and  the  paint- 


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224  DON  PEDRO'S  HEART. 

ings  yery  80*80.  The  apartments  spadoos^  but  simple 
in  their  "  fitting-up."  Views  from  these  living  roomsy 
and  particnlarly  from  the  parapets  of  the  palace^  very 
extensive  and  fine^  down  the  river  to  the  sea^  and  up 
to  the  mountains  of  Arouca.  A  pleasing  youths  in 
his  priestly  dress^  black  silk  reaching  to  the  ground, 
conducted  us  through  the  palace. 

The  Lapa  churchy  a  modem  buildings  of  homely 
aspect^  is  handsome  within.  Here  rests^  in  a  silver 
um^  behind  the  high  altar,  the  heart  of  Don 
Pedro,  which  he  bequeathed  to  his  ''faithftd  city 
of  Oporto/'  and  on  the  anniversary  of  his  death 
the  church  is  richly  hung  with  black  velvet  and 
silver,  and  the  mass  for  the  dead  is  performed. 
The  urn  is  on  this  occasion  exposed  on  the  high 
altar,  which  is  guarded  on  each  side  by  an  officer  in 
full  uniform ;  the  body  of  the  church  crowded  with 
military. 

Behind  the  church  there  is  a  large  cemetery,  which, 
when  a  few  more  years  have  roUed  away,  will  remind 
you  of  the  cemetery  of  Montmartre.  There  is  another 
small  and  pretty  cemetery  attached  to  the  Cedofeita 
church,  a  church  well  worth  visiting :  it  is  the  oldest 
church  in  Oporto,  and  one  of  the  most  ancient  in 


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NUNNERY  COURT-YARD.  225 

the  realm.  Till  those  and  other  cemeteries  were 
recently  established,  everyone  was  buried  in  the 
churches — a  dreadful  old  custom,  not  yet  obsolete 
even  with  us. 

Wl^en  we  went  to  visit  the  convent  of  St.  Anna, 
we  rode  into  the  court-yard ;  the  clatter  of  our  horses 
brought  some  of  the  Freiras  and  young  pensioners  to 
the  grated  window.  The  English  lady  on  horse- 
back, or  rather,  perhaps,  her  hat  and  long  riding- 
habit,  seemed  to  attract  much  attention,  till  our 
two  Newfoundland  dogs  quite  ^'cut^'  her  "out,^'  and 
absorbed  their  admiration.  In  the  centre  of  the 
secluded  court-yard  was  a  pretty  marble  fountain, 
with  a  large  circular  basin  shining  full  to  the  brim 
with  limpid  water.  No  sooner  was  it  perceived  by 
the  dogs  than  up  they  sprang,  splash  into  the  basin, 
and  swam  round  and  round  it  as  if  it  had  been  made 
for  them.  Every  now  and  then  they  dived  to  the 
bottom,  and  brought  out  stones,  which  they  duly 
deposited  in  the  court,  then  sprang  back  again,  and 
were  not  tired  till  they  had  not  left  a  pebble  in  the 
fountain.  The  roars  of  laughter  and  cries  of  admi- 
ration from  the  ladies  behind  the  gratings  showed 
that  they  were  as  much  'surprised  and  diverted  by 
l3 


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226  DON  PEDRO'S  HAT. 

these  canine  proceedings  as  if  the  dogs  had  been 
conjurors.  While  waiting  for  permission  to  see  the 
chapel^  we  exchanged  a  few  words  of  civility  with 
one  of  the  elder  nuns  through  the  iron  grate  that 
separates  the  chapel  at  the  west  end  from  the  ;*est  of 
the  convent. 

The  city  library  and  museum^  heretofore  a  con- 
vent^ form  one  side  of  the  handsome  square  of  St. 
Lazarus^  the  centre  of  which  is  occupied  by  a  public 
garden^  small^  but  very  rich  in  rare  and  beautiful 
flowers  and  shrubs.  The  museum  contains  many 
pictures^  but  no  good  ones^  which  is  fortunate;  for 
the  gallery  is  on  the  ground-floor,  and  so  cold  and 
damp  that  any  picture  there  must  soon  be  destroyed. 
One  interesting  reUc  was  shown  to  us — ^the  sword  of 
Afibnso  Henriques,  no  longer  a  ''  trenchant  blade  ;^' 
but  its  very  rust  rebukes  the  doubters,  who  must 
have  a  proof  for  everything.  What  a  pity  they  can- 
not  evoke  from  Mahomet's  paradise  some  one  of  the 
scores  of  Moslems  whom  it  slaughtered,  or  the  Car- 
dinal Legate  whom  it  terrified ! — I  could  not  get  up 
any  enthusiasm  for  Don  Pedro's  black  cocked  hat 
and  white  plume ;  nor  for  his  pocket-telescope,  though 
it  was  presented  by  his  graceful  widow  the  Duchess  of 


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GRAN  VASCO.  227 

Braganza.  These  things  are  preserved  under  a  glass- 
case,  on  a  richly-carved  stand,  placed  in  the  middle  of 
the  gallery.  The  library  is  up-stairs,  a  magnificent 
apartment,  occupying  two  sides  of  the  square  of  the 
convent ;  the  old  gallery  and  the  cells  on  both  sides  . 
having  been  thrown  together  to  form  this  one  room. 

One  picture  worthy  of  record,  and  only  one,  by 
a  Portuguese  hand,  have  I  seen  in  this  city — "  The 
Fountain  of  Mercy,^'  in  the  sacristy  of  the  Miseru 
cordia  Church,  Rua  das  ilores.  It  is  attributed  to 
Gran  Vasco,  of  Vizeu,  on  whom  is  fathered  almost 
every  painting  in  this  realm  of  the  first  half  of  the 
sixteenth  centuiy,  and  even  of  earlier  date,  if  possess- 
ing any  claim  to  merit.  But  if  the  register,  still 
extant  at  Vizeu,  be  correct,  Vasco  Femandes  (the 
Great  Vasco)  was  not  bom  till  above  thirty  years 
after  the  death  of  the  alleged  donor  of  this  picture. 
King  Emanuel,  whose  portrait  it  contains,  as  also 
the  portraits  of  several  of  his  family.  According  to 
the  register,  Vasco  was  baptized  the  17th  of  Septem- 
ber, 1552.  King  Emanuel  died  on  the  13th  of  De- 
cember, 1521.  Whoever  may  have  been  the  artist, 
it  is  no  mean  performance. 

Our  Saviour  is  represented  dead  on  the  cross, 


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228  «  THE  FOUNTAIN  OP  MERCY/' 

which  rises  from  the  centre  of  the  stone  basin  of  a 
fountain ;  St.  John  stands  on  the  brim  of  the  basin 
to  the  rights  the  Virgin  to  the  left;  spectators^  all 
portraits  fix>m  life^  form  a  circle  ronnd  the  fountain. 
,  King  Emannel,  *'the  great  and  the  fortunate/'  and 
his  sons^  his  second  wife  and  two  daughters^  are  in 
front  of  the  picture.  The  Archbishop  of  Lisbon  and 
other  ecclesiastical  dignitaries  stand  behind  the 
king;  next  to  them  the  civil  dignitaries;  behind  the 
queen  and  the  two  princesses^  Donna  Beatrice  and 
Donna  Isabella,  are  the  ex-Queen  Leonor,  widow  of 
John  n.,  and  several  other  female  figures.  This 
group,  uniting  with  that  of  the  civil  officers,  completes 
the  circle. 

The  expression  of  the  Virgin  Mother  and  St. 
John,  wonderful !  The  utter  woe  of  the  former  in 
touching  contrast  with  that  of  the  beloved  disciple— 
a  sadness  subdued  and  elevated  by  firm  faith  in  the 
Ood-in-man — Him  over  whom  they  mourn.  A  dig- 
nified priest,  who  showed  us  this  picture,  expressed 
himself  most  feelingly  upon  it.  He  said  he  had 
been  years  and  years  in  discovering  aU  its  meaning, 
and  that  the  charm  of  the  composition  was  still  un- 
exhausted. 


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OPERA.  229 

Much,  and  perhaps  the  reader  may  think  far  too 
much,  has  been  written  of  our  out-door  pleasures 
during  the  winter  we  spent  in  Oporto;  and  much 
might  be  written  of  pleasant  evenings  at  the  Italian 
Opera,  which  is  open  three  times  a  week,  and  whither 
we  went,  like  many  others,  on  foot  or  on  donkey- 
back.  And  here  lovers  of  music  may  reaUy  enjoy 
music;  for  the  house  is  neither  too  light  nor  too 
dark,  nor  too  hot  nor  too  cold  for  comfort,  and  you 
may  go  without  the  fuss  of  ^^best  bib  and  tucker;^* 
for  to  appear  in  undress,  except  on  gala  nights,  is 
the  fashion.  On  gala  nights  the  crimson  curtains 
before  the  queen's  box,  which  occupies  a  large  space 
in  the  centre  of  the  theatre,  are  withdrawn,  and  there 
a  portrait  of  her  Majesty  is  to  be  seen  occupying  the 
place  that  she  herself  would  occupy  were  she  on  a 
visit  to  the  city. 

The  almost  death-like  stillness  of  the  principal 
streets,  festa  seasons  of  course  excepted,  as  you  pass 
through  them  between  10  and  11  p.m.,  is  very  striking 
to  one  firesh  from  England;  and  you  ask  yourself 
involuntarily,  where  can  aU  that  industriously  busy 
and  resolutely  idle  life  be  gone  to,  that  a  few  hours 
ago  thronged  this  very  place?     No  knots  of  young 


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230  TINTINNABULAR  ROGUES' -MARCH. 

men  collected  at  the  corners  of  the  streetSj  no  idle 
boys  playing  pranks  at  doors  and  windows.  You 
may  meet  or  be  overtaken  by  private  carriages^  sedan 
chairs,  and  gentlemen  and  ladies  on  foot  returning 
from  the  Opera  or  the  theatres,  or  from  private  par- 
ties, but  you  see  none  of  the  lower  orders.  The 
industrious  portion  have  betaken  themselves  to  their 
homes,  and  the  idlers  have  vanished  at  the  sound 
of  a  bell,  which  rings  every  night  at  nine  in  summer 
and  eight  in  winter  from  one  of  the  churches,  and 
is  called  '^The  Bell  of  the  Vagabonds,'^  or  "  Ras- 
cals ;'^  and  if  any  unfortunate  wretch  answering  to 
this  description  be  found  in  the  streets  half  an  hour 
after  the  beU  has  ceased,  he  is  taken  up  by  the  police, 
and  a  prison  is  his  home  for  that  night  at  least. 

The  theatre  I  understood  to  be  at  a  very  low 
ebb,  and  consequently  little  frequented.  We  were 
never  there.  We  found,  however,  much  to  amuse, 
and  not  a  little  to  admire,  the  one  evening  we  were 
fortunate  enough  to  have  tickets  of  admission  to  a 
private  theatre  of  amateur  performers.  The  scenery, 
dresses,  &c.,  were  got  up  admirably,  and  the  actiiig 
was  considerably  above  par;  there  was  one  really 
superior  actor. 


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SOCIETY.  231 

Dinner  parties  were  to  be  heard  of  almost  daily 
among  the  English^  and  balls  and  evening  parties^ 
which  both  Portuguese  and  English  attended^  were 
very  frequent.  The  Factory  House  gave  its  dinners 
and  its  grand  ball:  and  the  usual  winter  balLs^  once  a 
month  I  think^  were  given  at  the  Assemblea  Portuense; 
but  of  none  of  these  will  I  write^  because  circumstances 
prevented  me  from  availing  myself  of  the  privilege 
I  had,  through  the  kindness  of  our  host  and  other 
friends^  of  being  present  on  such  occasions.  One^  and 
I  think  only  one^  private  ball  in  an  English  house  I  at- 
tended^ and  could  not  but  greatly  admire  the  graceful 
dancing  of  some  of  the  young  and  pretty  Portuguese 
ladies.  English  women  are  much  too  fond  of  crying 
down  their  sisters  of  Portugal.  They  go  so  far  as  to 
say  that  the  mental  endowments  of  the  Portuguese 
ladies  are  so  little  cultivated^  that  they  can  find  no 
better  or  happier  employment  for  their  precious  time 
than  sitting  on  the  esteira  (the  mat),  which  is  spread 
on  the  floor  in  the  centre  of  the  sitting-rooms,  to 
gossip,  and  eat  sweetmeats ;  or  in  standing  out  on 
their  balconies  to  stare  at  such  of  the  passers-by  as 
they  do  not  know,  and  to  bow  to  those  whom  they 
do  know.    This  may  or  may  not  be  true ;  but  how 


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232  THE  ENGLISH  ABROAD. 

can  the  English  ladies  know  it  to  be  trae^  when^  with 
the  same  breathy  they  go  on  to  complain  of  the  mean- 
ness and  inhospitality  of  the  Portuguese,  who,  they 
say,  never  invite  you  to  their  houses,  though  they  are 
willing  enough  to  be  invited  to  yours,  and  that  they 
are  rarely  admitted  by  their  Portuguese  friends  even 
on  a  morning  call  ?  I  think  in  my  account  of  our 
trip  to  the  Minho  country  enough  is  told  of  our 
reception  at  the  houses  of  Portuguese  gentlemen  to 
refute  the  assertion  of  want  of  hospitality  in  Portugal. 
The  fact  is,  the  English  ever  will  carry  English 
habits  and  English  prejudices  into  foreign  countries; 
and  so  the  English  carry  London  hours  to  Oporto, 
and  they  dine  between  six  and  seven  o'clock.  The 
usual  dinner  hour  among  the  Portuguese  is  three, 
after  that  comes  the  sesta ;  and  such  arrangements 
are  not  consistent  with  dinner-givings.  The  sesta 
over,  the  ladies  prepare  to  pay  or  receive  visits. 
Many  families  have  one  day  or  more  in  the  week 
appointed  for  an  "at  home,'*  which  is  known  in 
their  circle,  and  where  any  one  of  the  circle  may  pre- 
sent him  or  herself  and  be  sure  of  a  gracious  welcome ; 
and  this  visit  answers  the  end,  too,  of  our  stupid 
morning  calls.    This  plan  of  life  of  the  Portuguese 


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THE  PORTUGUESE  AT  HOME.  233 

of  course  does  not  agree  with  English  hours.  In 
our  houses  the  dinner  is  not  yet  placed  upon  the 
table^  and^  probably^  before  that  meal  and  the  after- 
dinner  sitting  are  over^  the  soiree  is  broken  up. 
The  few  English  gentlemen  whose  good  sense  and 
right  feeling  induce  them  to  give  in  to  Portuguese 
hours  and  habits^  and  to  accept  in  their  own  way 
of  their  hospitalities^  say  that  there  is  no  back- 
wardness whatever  on  the  part  of  the  Portuguese 
to  associate  with  the  English.  The  language^  no 
doubt,  is  a  great  obstacle  to  friendly  intercourse. 
Few  Portuguese  ladies  speak  English ;  and  Portu- 
guese, though  an  easy  language  to  learn  to  read,  is 
a  very  difficult  one  to  learn  to  speak.  English  ladies 
will  not  even  take  the  pains  to  learn  to  read  it, 
making  a  comfortable  cloak  of  a  high-minded  reason 
in  which  to  conceal  from  themselves  the  true  one, 
indolence — "  It  is  great  waste  of  time  to  learn  to  read 
a  language  which  has  but  one  book  worth  reading, 
Camoens.^' — ^A  great  mistake,  by-the-bye. 

These  ladies,  contenting  themselves  with  a  strange 
jargon,  picked  up  from  their  Galician  servants,  which 
answers  for  aU  the  purposes  of  the  daUy  drudgery 
of  life,  do  not  feel  themselves  equal  to  enter  into  con- 


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234  QUEM  HE! 

Tersation  with  the  Portuguese^  and  this  mBkesfiriendfy 
intercourse  impossible,  and  throws  a  restraint  oyer 
mere  acquaintanceship^  which,  under  its  best  aspect 
barren  and  unprofitable,  in  Portugal  is  benumbing  in. 
its  interchange  of  etiquette ;  for  these  visits  of  compli- 
ment are  truly  spirit-freezing.  You  go  to  the  portal^ 
which  is  always  open :  if  the  owner  be.  wealthy,  you 
find  two  or  more  servants  in  attendance  in  the  hall ; 
if  he  is  in  moderate  circumstances,  you  must  make 
your  way  through  the  hall  to  the  door  at  the  foot  of 
the  stairs,  there  clap  your  hands  or  hammer  at  the 
door  till  it  flies  open,  the  latch  being  pulled  from 
above  by  a  string  :  clap  again  tiU  the  servant 
comes.  K  you  are  to  be  admitted,  and  the  master 
of  the  house  or  his  son  be  within,  he  presently 
follows  his  servant,  meets  you  on  the  stairs,  gives 
you  his  arm,  and  conducts  you  to  the  sitting-room, 
at  one  side  of  which  is  placed,  against  the  wall, 
a  cane-backed,  cane-seated,  coverless,  cushionless 
sofa.  At  either  side,  and  at  right  angles  with  the 
sofa,  four  or  five  chairs  are  planted  close  together. 
A  pretty  esteira  (straw  mat)  or  a  handsome  woollen 
rug  covers  this  square;  the  rest  of  the  floor  has 
often  no  covering,  in  summer  at  least :  chairs  and 


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VISITS.  235 

tables  are  ranged  stiffly  round  the  room^  one  table^ 
perhaps^  in  the  centre^  and  few  ornaments  anywhere. 
To  this  formidable  little  square  the  visitors  are  led^ 
and  placed  in  the  seat  of  honour — the  sofa;  the 
ladies  are  seldom  in  the  room^  but  soon  come  down 
from  their  private  apartment^  and  even  the  lady  of 
the  house  would  on  no  account  sit  by  you  on  the 
sofa:  she  takes  the  chair  nearest  to  you^  and  the  other 
members  of  the  family  occupy  the  other  chairs :  and 
if  more  are  needed^  they  are  placed  opposite  the  sofa^ 
closing  in  the  square.  Think  how  utterly  impossible 
for  an  English  woman^  with  but  a  few  words  of 
broken  Portuguese  on  her  tongue,  to  attempt  to  use 
them,  knowing  they  must  be  overheard  by  every  one 
present,  and  knowing,  too,  that  the  Portuguese  have 
a  natural  genius  for  quiz2dng.  For  myself,  all  I 
could  say  was  "  Yes*'  or  ''No  ;^^  all  I  could  do  was  to 
look  like  a  half-wit ;  and  all  I  could  think  of  was, 
"  When  may  we  escape  from  this  pinfold  of  ceremo- 
nious misery  ?^^  Feeling  certain  that  the  visited 
would  be  as  thankfrd  as  the  visitors  when  the  mo- 
ment arrived  for  the  latter  to  depart,  we  made  our 
calls  very  brief,  following  a  wise  example  set  us  by 
the  Portuguese  ladies  when  they  first  called  upon  us. 


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236  MUSIC. 

The  gentleman  again  offers  you  his  arm  down  stairs^ 
and  does  not  leave  you  till  you  are  seated  in  your 
carriage^  or  on  your  steed,  ass,  or  mule. 

The  Portonians,  both  male  and  female,  are  pas- 
sionately fond  of  music :  they  have  lately  set  on  foot 
a  Philharmonic  Society.  On  St.  Cecilia^s  day,  to  do 
honour  to  the  day,  this  society  oflfered  themselves  to 
assist  in  the  performance  of  high  mass,  (the  music 
composed  by  one  of  their  own  members,)  in  any 
church  the  bishop  might  select  for  the  purpose.  Each 
member  had  the  privilege  to  admit  the  inmates  of  his 
own  family,  and,  luckily  for  us,  our  English  host  was 
a  member ;  so  we  dressed  ourselves,  according  to 
order,  in  black  dresses,  and  threw  over  our  heads 
very  large  black  lace  veils,  which  were  borrowed  for 
us  from  our  next-door  neighbour,  a  Portuguese  lady; 
and  we  stepped  into  a  gay,  trim  little  post-chaise,  built 
in  the  time  of  Noah,  and  were  soon  one  among  the 
train  of  carriages  on  their  way  to  the  church.  I  will 
spare  you  the  particulars  of  this  church  festa-day; 
suffice  it  to  say,  we  came  away  much  gratified — ^not 
with  the  music,  for  that,  though  very  good  for  a  con- 
cert or  a  private  room,  was  not  fitted  for  a  church,  as 
it  too  frequently  recalled  passages  that  we  had  heard 


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CHURCH  FESTA.  237 

at  the  opera-house — ^but  with  the  general  eflfect  of  the 
buildings  which  was  most  tastefully  decorated  with 
evergreens  and  flowers.  Vases  full  of  flowers  were 
placed  on  every  shrine,  and  in  every  niche ;  the  pil- 
lars and  crosses  were  wreathed  with  flowers,  and 
festoons,  chiefly  composed  of  the  blossoms  of  the 
camellia,  hung  from  the  ceiling;  and  the  lights 
from  the  four  or  five  hundred  wax  candles,  amid  the 
brilliant  sunshine  that  poured  in  from  the  high  win- 
dows, had  not  the  effect  of  light,  but  of  lustrous 
jewels,  especially  those  that  were  burning  overhead 
in  the  glass  candelabra  that  were  suspended  from  the 
lofty  and  richly-ornamented  roof.  One  passage  in 
the  ceremony  was  very  striking,  when,  at  a  sudden 
burst  of  triumphal  music  from  the  orchestra  in  the 
gallery  immediately  above  the  great  west-door,  that 
door,  which  until  then  had  been  kept  closed,  flew 
open,  and  the  bishop  with  a  numerous  company  of 
white-robed  attendants  entered,  and  walked  up  the 
aisle,  with  a  dignified  humility  of  manner,  dis- 
pensing his  blessing  to  the  congregation  as  he  passed 
along  to  take  his  seat  within  the  rails  of  the  altar. 
Service  then  began  at  twelve  o^clock,  and  was  not 
over  till  half-past  four ;  but  we  came  away  immedi- 


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238  CARNIVAL. 

ately  after  the  sermon  was  ended — ^not  a  very  profit- 
able discourse^  as  far  as  I  could  gather^  being  a 
laudation  of  the  saint,  rhapsodized  with  all  the  con- 
ceit of  a  dillettante  preacher. 

I  have  said  nothing  of  the  religious  processions  on 
certain  Saints'  days,  nor  of  the  decorating  and  light- 
ing up  of  the  churches  for  the  celebration  of  the 
festival  of  the  Nativity,  nor  of  the  mournful  solemni- 
ties of  Passion  week,  because  in  all  Roman  Catholic 
countries  these  ceremonies  are,  I  believe,  conducted 
much  in  the  same  way,  and  have  been  described 
again  and  again  with  great  spirit  and  exactness. 
The  preparation  for  the  season  of  Lent  is  surely 
strange ;  amusing,  and  very  amusing  no  doubt  it  is. 
The  masking  spreads  from  high  to  low ;  every  little 
child  that  plays  in  the  street  has  its  mask.  Troops 
of  masked  horsemen  clatter  by;  and  carriages,  con- 
taining parties  of  maskers,  are  driving  up  and  down 
the  town  throughout  the  day,  and  in  the  evenings 
you  see  them  standing  at  the  doors  of  the  houses  of 
the  gentry,  waiting  for  their  owners  who  are  paying 
their  respects  to  the  family  within.  A  party  came  to 
our  house  and  great  fun  they  made.  Some  of  the 
group  were  soon  discovered.     They  remained  several 


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LENT.  239 

hours^  and  we  got  up  an  impromptu  dance^  always 
a  merry  dance.  Among  the  equestrian  maskers  in 
the  streets  appeared  a  figure  representing  an  English 
lady;  there  she  sat — ^and  a  shocking  bad  seat  was 
hers — on  a  side-saddle^  her  long  petticoat  almost 
sweeping  the  pavement^  and  her  black  hat  looking 
not  much  more  at  ease  upon  her  head  than  she  on 
her  saddle. 

There  are  sermons  or  courses  of  lectures  dehyered 
both  on  Sundays  and  week-days  in  many  of  the 
churches  during  Lent^  and  on  these  occasions  the 
churches  are  crowded  to  excess.  I  attended  a  Sun- 
day afternoon  lecture  at  the  Cedofeita.  We  went 
very  early^  but  not  an  inch  of  standing-ground  was 
vacant  in  the  body  of  the  churchy  not  a  seat  in  the 
gallery  unappropriated ;  and  we  were  coming  away 
in  hopeless  disappointment^  when  the  organist^  over- 
hearing by  accident  our  conversation  with  a  young 
person  belonging  to  the  sacristy^  most  kindly  came 
forward  and  proposed  to  retire  with  his  half  dozen 
singers  from  the  oi^an  gallery^  when  not  needed 
there,  to  make  way  for  us,  if  we  would  withdraw  when 
his  services  were  required.  The  organ  was  directly 
opposite  the  pulpit,  and  parallel  with  it,  so  that  we 


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240  THE  LAST  SOLACE. 

were  as  well  situated  as  it  was  possible  to  be^  both 
for  seeing  and  for  hearing.  The  service  commenced 
with  an  anthem^  and  then  the  preacher  rose:  his 
delivery  was  distinct^  his  style  eloquent^  and  his 
manner  certainly  impressive^  though  there  was  too 
much  theatrical  action  and  too  much  of  sameness  in 
the  action  to  please  me.  He  was  addressing  the  poor : 
the  subjects  he  selected  were  restitution  and  repent- 
ance^ and  he  handled  them  in  a  masterly  manner^ 
while  a  humble  and  truly  Christian  spirit  pervaded 
the  whole  of  his  discourse;  and  to  me,  upon  whom  it 
came  quite  unexpectedly,  the  eflfect  was  stunning, 
when,  with  tears  rolling  down  his  face,  he  exclaimed, 
'^  Let  us  not  delay ;  now,  now,  at  this  very  moment, 
my  children,  let  us  humble  ourselves  before  the 
Lord,  and  implore  his  forgiving  mercy  V^ — on  which 
the  whole  of  that  large  congregation  fell  upon  their 
knees,  smote  their  breasts,  and  wept.  Another 
anthem  was  performed,  and  the  people  dispersed. 

One  ceremony  of  the  church  of  Rome,  when  it 
takes  place  at  night,  may  impress  even  a  true-hearted 
member  of  the  Protestant  Church  of  England  with 
religious  awe,  and  this  is  the  procession  which  bears 
through  the  streets  the  last  sacrament  to  the  dying 


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ENGLISH  CHAPEL  AND  CHAPLAIN.  241 

Christian :  a  little  tinkling  bell  warns  you  of  its 
approach;  Toices  are  heard  chanting  a  hymn;  you 
go  to  your  window ;  already  the  canopy^  under  which 
the  priest  walks^  bearing  the  host^  is  passing  your 
door  through  a  blaze  of  light  which  precedes  the 
holy  elements  far  as  the  eye  can  see^  while  behind 
all  is  in  black  darkness.  It  is  the  custom^  on  hearing 
this  bell^  for  everyone  to  hasten  to  place  lights  in  the 
^ndows^  and  to  withdraw  them  as  soon  as  the  pro- 
cession has  passed  by ;  and  thus  are  produced  the 
startling  darkness  and  light,  cheering  symbols  for 
the  spirit  departing  from  a  world  dark  with  sin  and 
sorrow,  for  that  other  world  so  bright  with  love  and 
peace. 

If  it  were  for  no  higher  motive  than  to  give  myself 
an  opportunity  to  express  private  feelings  of  respect 
and  gratitude  to  an  English  Chaplain  abroad,  for 
public  services  faithfully  and  diligently  performed 
in  trying  times,  through  a  series  of  years,  I  could 
not  leave  Oporto  without  naming  our  own  dear 
Church,  where  for  so  long  a  time  we  heretics  have 
been  permitted  to  offer  up  our  prayers  and  join  in 
the  simple  rites  of  our  Church,  undisturbed  by  the 
jibes  or  the  threats  of  those  who  bear  rule  in  the 

VOL.  I.  M 


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242  ENGLISH  BURIAL-GROUND. 

land.  There  is  nothing  attractive  in  the  appearance 
of  the  buildings  as  may  be  inferred  firom  the  con- 
ditions under  which  permission  was  obtained  for  its 
erection^  \iz.,  that  it  should  not  look  like  a  church 
either  within  or  without^  and  must  not  aspire  to 
tower,  belfiy,  or  bell — ^none  of  which  it  possesses — 
but  the  situation  partly  makes  up  for  these  deficien- 
cies; and  Nature,  with  her  never-failing  bounty,  has 
in  the  chapel-yard  supplied  "pillars^'  of  lime-trees, 
whose  branches  ^^have  learned  to  frame  a  dark- 
some aisle  ;'^  and  soothing  it  is  to  repose  for  a 
while  imder  the  cool  green  shade  of  these  aisles, 
before  entering  the  little  chapel,  where  you  are  too 
often  oppressed  by  heat  and  glare. 


END  OF  VOL.  I. 


JLONOON  : 
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